My Best Friends
by DavinaMoon
Summary: My life sucks. Really. I think I'm in love with my best friend, who's dating my other best friends. Complicated? I had no idea. -Rated T for swearing and paranoia-
1. Surprise

**Authors Note: Hey! Thank you for wanting to read my story! This is basically a Rose/Scorpius fic, but it will revolve around other pairings sometimes. Hope you enjoy it!**

_**PS.**_** While writing this chapter I was kinda inspired by the song All Star by Smash Mouth, so you can listen to it if you want to, while reading this. Just a suggestion. :) **_**DS.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

I've always loved the Hogwarts Express. It's kind of the object that represents my feelings for school start. And it matches my hair.

I think it feels kinda nice to start school again. I mean, I get to meet everyone that I haven't seen all summer. Like Anna, Jennie.. and Scorpius. I miss him the most, I think. Actually, I kinda like him more too, 'cause he's really gorgeous and-. Wait,what? I mean he's my friend. My best friend. I don't like him, or anything like that. I just, like, _like_ him. Like a friend. Yeah, that's right, like a friend. He's _not_ gorgeous.

But really, I have missed Anna and Jen too. They are my best girlfriends. Anna's been in France with her mother over the summer. And she didn't even write! I mean, she could've at least written a sodding letter. So that I knew that she hadn't, like died or something. You see, Anna isn't a very careful person. She's like the _epitome_ of recklessness. Once, I had to drag her out of a hippogriff's cage while she was trying to hug it. She said, and I quote 'It looked lonely.'. It may have something to do with the amounts of fire whiskey that she'd had.

But she's nice though. She's got these bright blue eyes that shines when she smiles. When she does that, all the boys swoon. _Literally._ Especially a certain green-eyed, messy-haired cousin of mine. *cough*Albus*cough*. But she doesn't like any of them. She just says, and again, I quote, 'He's not my type'. About. Every. Freaking. One. She hasn't even had a boyfriend! Not that I've had one either...

_Anyway, _Jennie is probably the opposite of Anna. Being a quidditch player, she's fairly strong, apart from Anna, who's, well, rather weak. But she's not reckless. Being a seeker, she's used to observe, she says, and she doesn't throw herself in to danger, like she said once when Anna had tried something called bungee-jump. I'm not sure what that is. Anna says it's a muggle thing. Anna's father is a muggle.

Jennie's from a pureblood family. She's the daughter of Blaise Zabini, and therefore, very beautiful. She's got dark, skin, dark eyes and dark hair. She doesn't make the guy's catch their breath like Anna does, but still, gets their attention. Apart from me and Anna, Jennie's had a lot of boyfriends. Like seriously, _a_ _lot_ of boyfriends. She gets together with them, and three weeks later, she's tired of them. She's like the female version of Albus.

Oh,Albus and his girls. My blood boils every time I think about it. The way he treats them... really disrespectful, y'know? He hooks up with them, makes them love him and leaves them. It's bothering me.

Atleast my favourite cousin has a redeeming quality, he's really open-minded. Even more than me.

On our first trip with the Hogwarts Express, he made friends with Alexander _Nott_, Derek _Parkinson_, and Scorpius _Malfoy. _He didn't even care about their last names. It turned out that he was sorted into Slytherin anyway, and they became his housemates.

But still, I wish I could be like that. I only became friends with Scorpius during our third year because Albus basically _forced_ me.

No, _really_! He took my hand, and dragged me to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall while muttering something about being tired of splitting his time between us. Then he sat me down beside Scorpius and said: 'Talk!'.

And we did. And even though I thought he was rather arrogant (and still does!), we became friends. And now we're inseparable. But he's still arrogant

Apart from that, Scorpius is alright. He may be Draco Malfoy's son, but he's not deatheater-y at all! You see, everyone thinks they know the Malfoys. 'Oh, the Malfoys, yeah, they're soulless Slytherin deatheaters, the lot of them'. It's so... infuriating! Do they know, that Scorpius wouldn't hurt a fly, that he snorts when he laughs, or that he's afraid to fail tests because it might disappoint the teachers? I've met his father too. The infamous Draco Malfoy. But no, he wasn't terrifying at all. He was rather nice, actually. But not as nice as Scorpius's mother. Astoria is a _very_ kind, but also a _very_ determined woman. She was determined to make my father accept me and Scorpius's friendship, so she did. That's what I call an accomplishment!

Anyhow, now you may wonder, who am I? How am I? Well, I'll tell you. I'm Rose Weasley, the daughter of 'The Brightest Witch of her Generation' and, well, Ron Weasley. Just the fact that my parents are two thirds of the Golden Trio, people expect me to be, well, perfect. But I'm not. I'm not smart, like my mother, funny, like my father, or pretty, like Anna and Jennie. Actually, I'm kinda plain. I don't make an impression. My hair, that I like to describe as auburn, is really ginger-ish, and I have freckles all over my face. I'm not smart, I'm not funny, and I'm not even pretty! Oh cruel world, why, _why_? The only thing I consider myself good at is quidditch. I'm a chaser.

Other than quidditch I'm not good at anything. Fuck. My. Life.

''Rooooosie!'', a high-pitched voice screeches, interrupting me from my self-pity. I immediately realise it's Jennie. She's the only one who's allowed to call me that.

I quickly rise to my feet to hug her. Aouch. My butt hurts. I guess I've been sitting too long.

''Hey, Jen!'' I hug her tightly. Oh god, I've missed her. ''How's life?'', I ask in an impersonation of her mother, while taking her hands in mine. She giggles.

''Oh,great!'' She grabs one of my hands and squeezes it. ''I've missed you! I have got _soo _much to tell you and Annie! So, how are-''. Suddenly, her ramble was interrupted.

I looked over at where she was looking. There was some random couple snogging in the middle of platform 9 3/4! She squeezed my hand again, harder this time, but for an absolutely different reason. 'Cause the couple wasn't random. As a matter of fact, I knew them very well. The snogging couple consisted of Anna Jackson, my best friend, and Scorpius Malfoy, my other best friend. _Oh my_. I think I have to sit down.

**Author's note: Hey! This is my first story ever (!) so I don't really know if it's any good. Therefore,I'd like you to tell me! Perhaps by pressing the button that says review? :)**

**Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it, and if it sucked, please don't kill me!**

**Yours truly, Moon **


	2. Fiery Hate

**Author's note: Hey! I'm back! :D **

**First of all, I would like to thank my very first reviewer: ****xStoryOfUsx****. Thank you! I'm very thankful that you reviewed my story, and alerted it! It totally made my day! And, I would also like to thank ****Mandih****, my second reviewer. I had no idea three words and a smiley could make me so happy! :D **

**OK, that sounded like a speech at the Oscars... **

**A special thanks also goes to everyone who've read this story! :D**

**Even though I would be even more happy if you reviewed too. ;)**

**I'm not allergic to criticism,so review ,even if you think my story sucks. Now, enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I (still) own nothing.**

_What the hell just happened? _Am I dreaming? I pinch my arm. Nope, I'm awake. I blink,and yes, Scorpius and Anna are still standing there, but now they're pulling away from each other. Thank god. I look down at Rosie. She has this weird expression on her face, a mixture of disbelief, and surprise. Then she sighs, and pulls her hand through her short hair. A habit she must have picked up from that annoying cousin of hers, Albus.

I turn back to Malfoy and Anna, and drop Rosies hand in the process. She doesn't seem to notice. The couple are now holding hands, while walking towards us. _Eew_. I look at Anna. She's walking with determination, and has a look of happiness on her face, like always. Then I look at Malfoy. Malfoy, and his stupid, blond hair. Rage suddenly fills me. Oh, I hate him. What does she see in him? Can't she tell that there's someone much better for her, right in front of her?

''Hey!'' Anna runs up to me and Rose. And hugs us. Oh, god, why? Now I have Malfoy-germs all over me. _Eew_.

Then, everything is a blur of 'How are you?', 'How's your summer been?' and 'I've missed you soo much!'. I answer all her questions with fake enthusiasm. I glance at Rose. She looks kinda awkward. She's not one of those people that can easily disguise her feelings, like me. She's more like an open book.

Then Scorpius walks up to Rose, making his presence known. And I had almost forgotten about him. Oh, well.

''Hey, Rose'', he looks at her, rather shyly. ''I've missed you'', he mumbles.

Rose blushes the famous Weasley red. Oh, can she be anymore obvious? She's so, totally, in love with him! Then her expression changes, in a split second. All the sudden, she looks angry. Like I said, an open book.

''Right.'' She walks past him. BURN. ''I think we should board the train now, so we don't have to share a compartment with someone.'' She sets off towards the train. I share a look with Anna. She looks... guilty. Serves her right. I walk away from her and Malfoy, hoping I'll find Rose.

Suddenly something brushes past me, something blond. Malfoy's running after Rose, when she obviously doesn't want to speak to him. Oh bloody hell, doesn't he have any sense of tact?

* * *

><p>Oh my god, what have I done?<p>

Jennie being pissed off is so not according to the plan. Neither is Rose storming off, and Scorpius running after her. Oh my.

Jennie's staring at me. I can feel it.

''Should we run after them?'' I look up at her eyes, those big, brown beaut-. Wait, what?

''Yeah, I think so.'' Or else they might kill each other.

I awkwardly look down at the ground. When I look up again, Jennie's already started walking. Yep, she's really pissed off.

* * *

><p>I have to run after her. What other choice do I have? She's my best friend, and she's upset. This has happened before. Only, those times, I wasn't the cause.<p>

I've missed Rose. I've missed her humour, that she denies possessing, her smell, her eyes, her hair- well everything. And the first thing I do is mess everything up. Great, Scorpius, _great_.

I look through the crowd, before spotting a red head making it's way through the crowd. I run, and on my way, I pass Zabini. I've never liked her. She's such a bitch. I don't get why Anna-. Oh, never mind.

I run through the crowd, shouting excuses after me, and board the train.

Inside, my brain finally calms down.

'Why is she upset?', I think to myself, as I walk through the train, checking the compartments as I pass them. Maybe she's just annoyed, because I didn't tell her. Yep, that's it. She can't be jealous, can she? No, that's just wishful thinking on my part. Not that I wish that.

Finally, I see her. She's sitting by the window, her head in her hands. I spend a moment just watching her. Her short, red hair is falling down in her face, so I can't see her expression. She sighs, and leans back. She's changed, I notice. Her nose is covered with freckles, and she looks a bit tanned. Her eyes look even more blue than before, and her hair even redder. I had kinda forgotten how beautiful she is. I take a deep breath, and walk inside.

''Why did you storm off like that?'' I look at her, curious of what her reaction might be.

''I didn't storm off.'' She looks up at me, an annoyed look on her face. ''Like I told you, I wanted an empty compartment.'' She turns her back at me, looking out the window instead. I sigh, and walk over to sit down beside her.

''What's wrong, Rose?'' Why did I ask that? I already know!

''Why didn't you tell me?'', she asks, looking , and sounding, rather annoyed. Why does she care? It's not like I've hid a dead person in my closet, or something.

''Does it matter? You know now.'' I shouldn't have said that, 'cause now she looks really angry.

''If it _matters_? Of course it does! You're my best friend! You're supposed to tell me stuff like this!'' I suddenly feel rather angry. Who does she think she is?

''Well, considering you reacted so well, why didn't I?'' I've raised my voice at her now, and I'm standing up again.

She blushes of anger.

''You git! How do you want me to react, then?'',she blurts out, slowly rising from her seat. I feel my rage increase.

''I don't know! Be happy for me, maybe?'' , I scream, and step closer to her. She shakes her head, so that her fiery hair falls in her face.

''I _am_ happy for you!'' She steps closer to me, dangerously close. So close that I can feel the heat radiating from her body. I have a sudden urge to touch her and I'm just about to raise my hand when she looks up at me, with a sarcastic smirk on her lips. That's when I lose it.

''No, you're not! You're just... jealous!'' The moment I say it, I regret it. Looking at her face, I can tell I hit a nerve. She blushes again.

''Why would I be jealous of your relationship with Anna?'' She's basically screaming now. Suddenly, she seems to change strategy. ''I hate you!'', she screams. Her words hit me like a bludger. I feel hurt. She looks down at her shoes, guilty. That just makes me angrier.

''I hate you too!''

I take one last look at her, before turning around, and exiting the compartment.

**Author's note: Hey! :) This chapter wasn't... Well, it wasn't good. I'm not really happy with it. I hope y'all still enjoyed it though. And please, review! It makes me happy! :D**

**PS. I tried to experiment with different POVs this chapter. If you didn't get it, the first one was Jennie, the second one was Anna, and the third one was Scorpius. **

**Yours truly, Moon**


	3. Musk and Jasmine

**Author's note: Hey darlings! I'm back with a new chapter! Woohoo! **

**I'd like to, once again, thank the reviewers, those who've alerted and added this story to their favourites, and last but not least; the readers. I can't explain with words how happy you make me! Really, thank you! :D**

**Now, enjoy this chappie! **

_**PS**_** . I'd give you a song suggestion for this chapter, but considering the fact that I was listening to Trololo while writing it, I refrain. **_**DS**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Today has been torture. Complete and utter _torture_. I haven't been able to talk to Rose, laugh with her, or tease her. Instead I've been forced to watch her do all those things with her other friends. _Including_ Anna. Why is it always so, that she gets out of trouble, but I stay in it? She was the one who came up with the idea of snogging at Platform 9 ¾!

But still she's the one who gets to be with Rose._ '_'It's not fair!'', I say, to no one in particular.

''What's not fair?'' I jump at the sound of Albus voice. I thought I was alone in the common room. Why would I think I could be alone for once in my life? Silly me.

''Oh, nothing.'', I say. Maybe if act all nonchalant about it, Albus will leave me alone.

''Oh, yes it is!'' Of course he won't. He never does. ''You've been fighting with Rose.'', he concludes. Really? I had no idea.

''She told you?'' Now, _that_ would be something. Albus actually listening when Rose tells him something.

''No, but I can tell.'', he says, staring at me. He's Mr. Observant now? ''Her glare speaks _volumes_.'' Well, he's right about that. Not that I'd notice. It's not like I've been staring at her all day or something.

''So, spill. What happened?'', he says, a curious look on his face. I sigh. Looks like I'll have to tell him.

''She's mad because of the... uhm... Anna-incident.'', I admit. The talk about Anna and I have spread like a plague. ''Because I didn't tell her.''

''Yeah, right. I'd be surprised is she weren't.'' Albus snickers. What the hell?

''What do you mean?'' I glare at him. He has this innocent look on his face. Is he hiding something? 'Cause it sure looks like it.

''Oh, nothing.'', he says, secretively. Hey, aren't I supposed to be the mysterious guy with secrets?

I decide to drop it. Albus can be very... stubborn, when he wants to. It's probably the Weasley genes.

''Y'know what I think you should do?'', he says, looking at me. He doesn't wait for an answer.

''You should apologise.'' Er, what? ''Even if it wasn't your fault.'', he says, and I stare at him. Apologise?

''Trust me, I know women.'' Well, I don't doubt _that_. ''And if you ever want to get laid again...'' Wait, what? ''...you have to apologise...'' I'm not- I- What!

''I'm not sleeping with Rose!'', I scream desperately. How can he even _think_ about that? It's sick!

''I'm sure you're not.'', he simply says. Then he winks, while leaving the room.

''And you should invite her to our practice this afternoon.'', he screams over his shoulder.

Yeah, 'cause nothing says 'I'm sorry' like revealing all your quidditch strategies for the next game.

* * *

><p>Our last class today is Charms. Charms with Slytherin. If there is a God, he, or she, hates me.<p>

I'm running late too, thanks to Anna. Apparently, she's lost her lipgloss. I had the biggest urge to say that she won't need any,Scorp-Malfoy's gonna kiss it off anyway. _Eew_. Luckily, I didn't. She'd think that I'm jealous or something, like Scor-_Malfoy_ said yesterday. Stupid jerk.

Jennie's nowhere to be seen either, so I don't have any moral support. _Great_.

Anna waves her hand in front of my face, lipgloss in hand. We set off through the halls.

As we finally reach the classroom, my heart is thumping loudly. And not because we're late for potions, 'cause who cares about potions anyway? No, because of a certain Slytherin. I'm actually nervous! Because of Scorpius Malfoy! I didn't think I'd live to meet the day.

Anyway, we soon reach our destination. I tug the door open, a little _too_ violently, and step inside, being followed by Anna. Everybody's staring at us, well, except _one_ person...

''Ah! Ms Weasley and Ms Jackson!'' Flitwick must be like, 200 years old now, or something. ''While you were, er, _absent_, we organized new seating arrangements.'' Uh-oh, this can't be good. ''Ms Jackson!'' I feel Anna flinch behind me. ''You'll sit with Ms Zabini'', the small man exclaims, and I can feel Anna relax behind me. She brushes past me on her way to the seat next to Jennie. ''And Ms Weasley'' I take a look around the classroom, scanning the room for empty seats. There's only one...''you'll sit with-'' Oh, for the love of god! ''Mr Malfoy.'' Well, this is awkward.

I sigh, before deciding to do what's expected of me as a brave Gryffindor; go face my own death. Okay, I'm not _literally_ dying, but it's the same feeling, I'm sure.

A Slytherin probably would run. Or make up an evil plan to avoid it. Whatever.

So, I walk over to Scorpius, who doesn't even look at me, I might add, and sit down. The tension's thick. Flitwick starts going on about something, and I don't even listen. Instead, I watch Scorpius. He's furiously scratching his quill against some poor piece of parchment. His blond hair's falling over his eyes. It's quite a sight. Until' now, he's always used some kind of strange gel in his hair. I'm glad he stopped using it. He looks better now, actually.

You see, Scorpius is rather good-looking. I can admit that. And it kinda annoys me. It's annoying to have a friend who's attractive. It makes me nervous. Especially when I know that he isn't _just_ pretty. He's got a great personality too! _And_ is good at quidditch! _And_ has great grades! It's not fair! There should be a law stating that people like him can't exist! Y'know, to protect people like me from getting uncomfortable in their presence. They should-

''Why aren't you taking notes?'', the subject of my thoughts says, making me jump, nearly falling of my seat.

''I-what?'', I sound like an idiot, even to myself. And I'm not very self-critical. He, looks up at me with those amazing, steel-grey eyes. _Swoon_.

''You aren't taking notes.'', he states, slowly. ''And Flitwick said that this lesson will be important for our N.E. next year.'' He looks rather worried. I don't take notes for _one_ lesson and he thinks I've gone mad. I don't study _that_ much, do I? Wait, don't answer that.

''Well, uhm... my quill's broken.'', I blurt out, hoping he'll buy it.

''That's funny, 'cause it doesn't look very broken to me.'' He points over to my right, where there's a quill. My quill. Oh dear. What do I do now?

''Oh, it isn't broken? That's a miracle!'', I say, raising my hands to the sky. Please buy it, please buy it, please-

''So, you didn't take notes for an entire class, because you thought your quill was broken, when it wasn't?'' No, I didn't take notes because I was busy taking thinking about how hot you are.

''Yeah.'' I nod. Wait, the entire class? That means-. I look around the classroom, finding it empty of people. Oh, no. This will not end well. Not at all. I look up at him again. He's staring at me. I feel heat rising on my cheeks. And, of course I go in to defensive mode. I think it's in my genes...

''Haven't you got something to do with Anna?'' Why do I keep torturing myself with these questions? I do _not_ want to know!

''No, should I?'' Uh, yeah. She's your girlfriend. I frown.

''Well, considering she's your girlfriend... Yeah.'', I say , rather annoyed by now.

''Girlfriend?'', he says, looking stunned. He shakes his head.

''Look, Rose, I-'' Is he apologising? I think he is! Oh my god!

''I'm sorry. I should have told you.'' He _is_ apologising! Why is he apologising? I can't let this happen! It's just _too_ chivalrous to be true. ''I-''

''No.'' I put up a hand to stop him.

''_I_ apologise.'' I put my hand down, and plaster a, what I hope is, sincere look on my face. Then he looks down at me, his eyes twinkling, like only his can.

''Good.'' Then he gets this mischievous glint in his eye. This can't be good. It never is. '''Cause then you can come to quidditch practice with me!'' Wait! I don't wanna go to- All of the sudden, he lifts me from the ground, and throws me over his shoulder. Which isn't too bad actually. He smells kinda good. Like musk. Mmmm, musk... Okay, this isn't good. Not at all. He really should let me go. Like, _now_.

''Ahh! Let me go!'', I scream. But he doesn't listen. Instead, he carries me out of the empty classroom, kicking the door open. And in the hallways, my scream echoes.

* * *

><p>''We really shouldn't be doing this, Anna.'', I whisper to her.<p>

''Shut it, Jennie. I'm trying to hear what they're saying.'', she snaps at me.

Like you probably guessed, we're eavesdropping. On Scorpius and Rose. In a broom closet.

I'm pressed up against Anna. It feels like her skin is burning mine. But in a nice way. Like, a pleasant burning. And she smells nice too, like jasmine. I like jasmine. I like jasmine a lot.

''I think they're going to kiss!'', she squeals. Er...?

''What the hell, Anna? He's your boyfriend!'', I say. She just looks at me.

''Schh.'' She turns away from me. We hear a loud thump. If she's right, there's some violent snogging going on in there.

''Ahh! Let me go!'', Rose screams. Okay, this is strange.

''That's strange. I don't remember him as _that_ bad.'', Anna says. Okay, that, I did not need to know. _Ever_. 'Cause of all the boys in the world, Scorpius Malfoy is the only one I wouldn't snog. Seriously. It's not that there's something wrong with him. It's just... _Eew_.

Suddenly there's a silence surrounding us. Anna sighs, and turns around. For a moment, everything freezes. It's like time has lost it's meaning. Okay, that sounded silly and poetic, but really, it does. I can feel Anna step closer to me. I look in to her eyes. Her beautiful, depthless eyes. She does the same. I can feel her leaning in. I think she's gonna kiss me. And I want her to... She leans in and... BAM! The door to what I guess is the Charms-classroom swings open. It breaks the moment, and I flinch back from Anna. Was she just about to kiss me? And, did I want her to? Of course not! That's just wrong! And I'm not gay! Right?

The sound of laughter mixed with screaming and footsteps fill my ears. I break away from my thoughts. I make a move towards the door to the broom closet, in hopes of escaping, but Anna beats me to it. She storms off, following the laughter and the screaming in to the distance.

**Author's note: I'm not sure about this chapter...Although I'm more pleased with this chapter than the last one. What do you think? Review! :D**

**/Moon**


	4. Shirtless Boys

**Author's note: Hello! :) **

**As you can tell, I'm back with a new chapter. **

**And once again, I would like to thank everyone who's read, reviewed and alerted this story! **

**You guys are great! :D**

**Oh, and by the way, I got a great advice from one of my reviewers. He/She thought that I should write whose POV I'm writing from, when I switch. I hadn't even thought about that before! So, thank you for your advice,whatthedevil'sgoingon13! I've decided that from now on, I'll write whose POV I'm writing from, so I won't confuse you.**

**Now, enjoy the story!**

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

''Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy!'', I scream, while banging my fists against his back. ''Let me down!'', I scream, while laughing.

''I won't, 'cause you're coming to quidditch practice, wether you like it or not!'', he says, his chest rumbling with laughter. OK, I had kinda picked up on that already.

But still, what am I supposed to do at Slytherins quidditch practice? Well, I can always tease Albus about his flying... Yep, I'll do that. I decide to calm down. I don't want to hurt Scorpius's wonderful back, right? Nope, that would be a crime against humanity.

Suddenly, Scorp kicks a door open, and I'm met with a wall. A wall of warmth. Geez, it's really hot outside today. I haven't noticed. May have something to do with the fact that I've spent the entire day thinking about Scorp.

Anyway, we, I mean _he_, walks through the door. All of the sudden, he stops. Why is he stopping? I was just starting to enjoy this. Slowly, he puts me down on the ground again. Like I said, God hates me. But then, he presses me up against the castle wall, his hands on each side of me.

''If you promise to be a good girl, I'll let you walk.'' Well, I can't promise to be a good girl when you're standing this close to me... ''Okay?'', he says, looking down at me, an amused twinkle in his eyes, and a rueful smile on his lips.

''Okay.'', I say, looking up at him. Then he pulls away, too quickly. The moment passes. Scorp starts walking, and I follow, reluctantly.

We walk to the quidditch pitch in silence.

When we arrive, Scorp sets off towards his team without a word, and I walk away in the opposite direction, towards the towers.

I sit down at an appropriate seat. The heat is unbearable.

I decide to watch the game instead of focusing on the heat.

The Slytherin team is pretty good, actually. Even Albus. I watch him fly above me, carefully watching the game, while keeping an eye out for the snitch. He looks... observant. I must-

Oh. My. God.

Scorpius just took his robes off, along with the rest of the team. He's shirtless! He's got abs! I think I've died and gone to heaven. He's hot! No, I don't mean that! Or maybe I do.

Anyway, it's wrong to think so! He's Anna's boyfriend, for God's sake!

But he's still hot.

Actually, he's the most amazing person I've ever met. He's nice, intelligent, funny, cute, good at quidditch,chivalrous... and taken. Why didn't I realise this a year ago? Yeah, right, because I'm stupid.

But it's not that bad. I mean, there are other guys.

The other guys in the Slytherin quidditch team, also have abs. Not as nice as Scorp's though. And they're pretty funny too. Just not as funny as Scorp. And they're good at quidditch. Even though I know Scorpius's their best player...

Oh shit!

I'm surrounded by handsome, nice, funny (with the exception of Albus) guys, and all I can think about is Scorpius! What the hell's wrong with me?

''Hot, isn't it?'', someone says from beside me. I turn towards the sound of the voice. There sits my absolute nemesis (not that she knows it), Ashleigh Brown. She's shaking her head, causing her straight, blonde hair to fly around her face, occasionally getting stuck at her glossy lips.

''Yeah, it's almost to warm to be outside.'', I say, trying to sound as neutral as I possibly can, pretending I wasn't just caught with staring at my best friends boyfriends abs. She looks at me, her lashes heavy with mascara, with a look of superiority on her face. I don't know why she hates me. It may have something to do with the fact that my father dumped her mother during their school days. Or maybe she's just a bitch.

''Oh, I wasn't talking about the weather, she says, nonchalantly.

I freeze.

Is she a mind reader?

''So, what are you doing here?'', she asks me. Hey, I was here first!

''Uhm, Scorpius wanted me to come.'', I answer her.

''Oh, really?'', she asks. It doesn't look like she believes me. _Bitch_.

''Well, I'm here 'cause Albus invited me.'', she says, obviously proud.

Suddenly, I feel sympathy for her. Poor girl, about to get dumped. You see, Albus always chuck his girls after quidditch practice. He say it's tradition. I say it's disgusting.

''But Scorpius Malfoy, Rosie? Congratulations!'', Ashleigh says, while clapping her hands together. Ugh, I hate it when people call me Rosie. Unless they're Jennie. Or Scorp.

Wait, what did she just say?

''What? No! We're just friends!'', I scream in desperation. She just looks at me, smirking.

''I'm sure you are.'', she says, nodding.

I panic.

''No, really. He's... uhm... dating Anna.'', I say, a little to nonchalantly to be neutral. Ashleigh raises an eyebrow.

''It doesn't seem like it'', she says, glaring at me. Uh, yeah, it does!  
>''I mean, just because they snogged, that doesn't mean they're dating, right?'', she says, looking away.<p>

I nod. Even though I don't believe her.

Why does she even care?  
>''Listen, Rose...'', Ashleigh says. Wow, I think this is the first time she's called me that, instead of <em>Rosie<em>.

''You can't live your life _hoping_ you'll get what you want.'', she says, secretively, with a hint of bitterness.

''What I mean is, when you want something, you should do what you can to get it.'' She's looking at the horizon, lost in her thoughts. When did she become so smart? She turns towards me again.

''If, let's say _you_, have feelings for, hypothetically, _Malfoy_, you should go for it.'', she says, in a sincere tone. ''Tell him, or you'll be sorry.'', she concludes, sounding a little _too_ harsh.

I think about it. Maybe she's right. Maybe not.

But that's still not the point! The point is, it's wrong to like your friends boyfriend. But I don't like him! I don't! Not like that. Okay, I do.

Oh, this is all so _confusing._

''I don't!'', I scream, trying to prove it more to myself than to Ashleigh. ''Really'', I say, in a softer tone.

''Of course not, Rosie!'', she laughs. Looks like she's back to her old self again.

I consider what she just said. I can't tell exactly him. No, that would totally ruin our friendship. And what would I say anyway? 'Hey Scorp, I just wanted to let you know that I think you're the most fantastic guy I've ever met, and that I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you.' Get my point now?  
>''Hey girls!'', someone greet us from above. I look up, only to find Albus and Derek hovering above us on their brooms. Ashleigh looks like she's in seventh heaven.<p>

''Practice's over.'', Albus says with sadness in his voice. Does he really love quidditch that much?

He turns to Ashleigh, and she immediately lights up.

''I'll meet you in the dressing room later. Okay?'', he asks her. She just nods enthusiastically, her blonde locks falling over her face. OK, I don't feel like staying here anymore. I give Albus one last, scorching look before turning on my heel, and leaving the tower. He didn't seem to notice anyway. He was busy staring at Ashleigh. Hmm, that's strange. He never stare at his girls.

I shake the thought out of my head. Who cares anyway?

I walk across the quidditch pitch, looking for Scorpius. And I find him.

A few feet away, Scorpius stands, facing Alex Nott, just as perfect as when I last saw him. But now he's not shirtless. It looks like they're arguing.

My heart is thumping loudly now. _Scorpius_.

Can I really be in love with him? That would be... absurd.

I mean, he's supposed to be my friend. Why does he have to be so irresistible?

I walk over to them, my heart thumping louder for every step.

''What are you doing?'', I ask not being able to shut up. They both jump at the sound of my voice.

They turn to me, looking a little... ashamed?

That's weird.

Then, Scorpius relaxes. Thank god!  
>''Rose! There you are!'', he says, like he's been looking for me.<p>

He puts his arm around my shoulders, while smiling at me. It's supposed to be a friendly gesture, but I feel awkward. Like there's some hidden meaning behind it. Yep, I'm pathetic.

He pulls me closer. Wow, this is _really_ weird.

''We were just,er, _discussing_.'', Scorpius says, looking at me. He has this smug expression on his face. Strange.

''What did you discuss? Whose broom is bigger?'', I blurt out. Why can't I just _shut up_?

I feel heat rising on my cheeks.

Luckily, Scorp starts laughing, and I'm saved. I join in, more of relief than thinking my little joke was actually funny. Alex is just standing there, looking embarrassed. I don't blame him.

Soon, Scorpius gets himself together.

''No, but really, we should go now.'', he exclaims, while pulling me off the pitch. Why do I get the feeling he's hiding something?  
>''Bye, Alex!'', he shouts over his shoulder.<p>

''Where are we going?'', I ask. Not that it matters. Anywhere's fine with me.

'I'm gonna take a shower.'', he says, steering me towards the castle. Okay...?

We enter the castle, and he immediately starts steering me towards the dungeons.

''And what am I supposed to do?'', I ask, as we are about to enter the Slytherin common room. 'Cause there's really not a lot of things you can do in the Slytherin common room. Trust me, because I've been there _waay_ too many times for a Gryffindor. He whispers a password that I don't hear.

''Wait.'', he simply says as we enter the common room.

* * *

><p><strong>Anna's POV<strong>  
>Oh my god! Oh my <em>fucking<em> god!

I'm such an idiot.

I tried to kiss Jennie!

Why did I do that? Why!

I just... got caught in the moment I guess.

Oh, fuck me and my recklessness.

I've ruined everything.

But that's not even the worst part.

The worst part is that if Scorpius and Rose hadn't interrupted us, I would have done it. And it would have revealed everything!  
>Oh, I don't even want to think about it.<p>

Okay, here's the thing... Lately, I've been looking at Jennie. And, I've started to... hmm... _appreciate_ her. Her deep brown eyes, her curly brown hair and her chocolate skin.

It's so different from Scorpius and his icy complexion.

And that's the problem. The dilemma.

I do think that Scorpius is attractive.

I mean, he's the perfect guy. Every girls dream.

And I hoped that he would be exactly what I need. The final solution. That I would finally be attracted to a guy.

It didn't work, and it still doesn't. I'm not attracted to him.

But I am attracted to Jennie. And it's wrong!

What would my dad, who's a Christian, think if he knew this? What would Scorpius think? What would my friends think? What would Rose think? She's my best friend except Jennie.

And speaking of Rose, I really wish something could happen between her and Scorpius soon!

Will she ever realise they're meant to be together?

* * *

><p><strong>Albus POV<strong>

I yawn. I hate getting up for school. I really do. Especially when I've only slept two hours, like tonight.

I spent the entire night thinking.

Yeah, weird, right?

I thought about a girl.

Yep, I sat in the common room, all alone, thinking about a girl all night.

Like I said, _weird_.

And I slept in the common room too, because I didn't want to talk to Scorpius. He'd know that something's wrong, and I wouldn't get any peace until' I told him. And I can't tell him. Because this is wrong! I shouldn't be thinking about her.

But she's not just any girl. She's pretty, but she doesn't look like all the other girls. She looks a lot like Anna, with blue eyes and blonde hair, whom I used to have a crush on.

She's smart, nice, funny, and she cares about me. And she would care about me even if I wasn't The Chosen One's son. She's just... different.

And I think I like her.

But I can't be with her, can't like her, can't date her. Even though I want to.

I just can't. I can't... commit. Every time I think about it, it feels like I'm choking. But every time I think about _her_ it feels like I'm the happiest guy in the universe. Really, it's like my thoughts are having a war inside of my head.

Suddenly, the door to my dorm opens. That's strange, usually no one's up at this hour.

The door swings open, revealing my favourite cousin, dressed only in a shirt. An oversized shirt. An oversized shirt with the Slytherin emblem embroidered on it. What the hell?

''H-hey Albus.'', she stutters. She looks, guilty. Hmm...?

''Hey Rose.'', I greet her, while examining her closer. She's carrying a robe, obviously about to put it on. Her hair is messy, even more than usual. She's blushing furiously. What? This is strange. Like, _really_ strange.

All of the sudden, the door swings open once again.

''Hey, Rose, you forgot your book.'', someone says behind her. Someone tall and blond.

_Scorpius_.

What the fuck?

He's blushing furiously too, looking nervously at me. Why?

Suddenly, realisation hits me. Rose slept in my dorm? Rose slept in my dorm with _Scorpius_?

Oh no, this can't be happening.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: OK, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.<strong>

**And remember, reviews make me happy! :D And you want me to be happy, right?**

**Blessed be.**

**/Moon**


	5. Memories

**Author's note: Here's the new chapter! I hope you'll like it. **

**And like usual, I'm very thankful to everyone who have alerted, read and reviewed this story. :D**

**_PS_. I've seen DH Part 2 now! So. Fucking. Epic. _DS_**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except maybe the OC's and the plot.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>''Scorpius.'', a voice calls in the chaos on Platform 9 ¾. <em>

_''Anna?'' The blond boy turns around, now facing a short and very pretty blonde._

_''Hello.'', Anna says, sounding rather nervous.''How are you?''_

_The boy frowns, looking rather surprised, but still replies politely._

_''Fine, thank you. And you?''_

_Anna looks down at the ground which causes her hair to fall in her face._

_''Confused.'', she says, and looks up._

_Scorpius raises one eyebrow, but doesn't reply._

_''Actually, that's why I'm here. I need a favor.'' She pauses, not wanting to give away to much if he's not willing to help her._

_''Okay, go on.'' He's looking at Anna now, a curious look on his face._

_''Well, here's the thing... I need you to kiss me.'' _

_Scorpius raises his eyebrow even further, and gapes slightly._

_''What?''_

_''I need you to kiss me.'' Anna is now blushing, while looking at the ground again._

_''Why would you want that?'' Scorpius is rather astonished. A million thoughts are twirling around in his head. _

_''Oh, I don't _want_ to!'' Anna hurriedly says, not wanting him to get any ideas. ''I mean, not that you're not desirable, 'cause you are, it's just... I need to. I just have to.'' She adds, hoping he won't take offence. _

_''Why me?'' He's rather confused by now. Is this some kind of joke? _

_''Because I trust you.'', she admits. She does. He's actually the only boy she trusts._

_''I'm not sure, Anna.'', Scorpius says. It's a weird thing to ask someone. ''Can't you just tell me what's wrong?''_

_''I'm sorry, I can't. I just have to do this.'', she stutters, making a fool of herself in her own eyes. It sounds weird, even to her._

_''You-. What?'', Scorpius asks. This is really strange. Who does those kind of things? Ask guys if they can kiss them? He doesn't understand. Anna can get any guy she wants, and yet she asks _him_ to kiss her. And that's the problem for him. She could have asked anyone from her fan club, and she asks _him_. The only straight guy at Hogwarts who's not even remotely interested in her. And don't get this wrong, Anna's great and all, but he doesn't like her like _that_.  
><em>

_''Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it.'', she blurts out. What was she thinking, asking him? He's so cold. She should have asked some nice guy, like Derek Parkinson or Albus Potter. But they, of course, wouldn't annoy Jennie half as much as Scorpius Malfoy. She doesn't know why she's so keen to bother Jennie all of the sudden._

_Scorpius is thinking hard. Is this really a good idea? Should he be doing this? But when Anna begins apologising he's suddenly filled with sympathy for her. And then she blushes. _Damn_! He can't say no to a girl who blushes. It makes him consider her offer. He gets to kiss a pretty girl, and he appreciates pretty girls. And it's not like he likes someone else right now, right?_

_''Wait, Anna. Just one kiss?''_

_Anna nods. One kiss can't hurt, right?_

_''I'll do it.'' _

__Her eyes are immediately filled with gratitude. She didn't actually think he would say yes.__

_''Like, right now?'' Anna's nearly bouncing of nervousness now._

_Scorpius is suddenly panic-struck. Here, by the train, where everyone can see them? Where his father can see them? Where Rose can see them? Even though that thought worries him, he's not going to back out. So what if she sees them? It's not like she'll be jealous. He doesn't expect her to. Even though he kind of wants her to be._

_''Sure.'' He nods, trying to conceal his worry._

_There's a moment of tense silence, before Anna leans in. Scorpius does the same. Their lips met. _

_Anna waits anxiously for that feeling that she knows is supposed to come. Y'know, butterflies in your stomach, fireworks before your eyes, that kinda feeling. _

_But it doesn't happen. She presses herself towards his muscular body, snogging him even more intensely. But she doesn't get it. The attraction. Instead, she's extremely aware of her surroundings. She can hear the sound of footsteps, people talking, and cofferts being dragged alongside the ground. _

_And sure, Malfoy's a good snogger, that's not it. The thing is, she doesn't feel the attraction, like so many times before. Actually, it wasn't until' this summer that she considered her sexuality. That she started to wonder, why she didn't feel anything when she snogged some random guy at school. That perhaps, she's not meant to be snogging random guys. Perhaps, she's meant to be snogging random girls. And that scares her. She doesn't have anything against gay people, not at all, even though she's been raised to, by a very Christian father. But she's scared. Scared to face prejudice. Scared to have to face the cold harsh reality, all alone. _

_Meanwhile, Scorpius is also waiting. Waiting for the world to disappear, like it's supposed to. But there's no spark. Not that there has been before. He's kissed girls before, and Anna is by far the best one. But the only thing he can think about is someone else. Someone blue-eyed, intelligent, funny and with a temperament as fiery as her hair. And that's just weird. Thinking about your best friend while you're snogging someone. He shakes away his thoughts as Anna pulls away. _

_The first thing Anna spots when she has pulled away from Scorpius is Jennies brown eyes meeting hers. She looks confused, Anna notices. Anna looks at Scorpius, suddenly getting an idea. What if Jennie thinks that they're a couple? Now, _that_ would be funny. She tugs at his arm, requesting the one thing that only couples are allowed to do. _

_He's confused, but still takes her hand. Together, hand in hand, they march off to meet their destiny, in form of two jealous best friends._

* * *

><p><strong>Scorpius's POV<strong>

The rest is, like they say, history. I'm lost in memories as I walk to The Great Hall besides Rose. She's been awfully quiet since what I like to call 'The Borrowed Shirt-Incident'. Because that's all there is, really. A borrowed shirt. We talked, it became late and she didn't want to get caught outside her dorm after curfew. And I suggested she'd sleep there, and she insisted she'd sleep in Albus bed, and I said yes. And that was it. Just two friends, talking and sleeping in each others dorm. No big deal. Al reacted kinda well too. He just shook his head, muttered under his breath and walked past me and Rose in to the dorm.

I'm glad me and Rose got back to normal again. It's weird not getting to talk to your best friend. Not that we're talking right now, anyway.

But the problem persists. _Anna_. I still haven't told Rose that I'm kinda not dating Anna. That it all was just a scheme. I don't know why. It would have been easy to just casually mention it when we were talking yesterday. But I didn't. It was at the tip of my tongue, but I stopped myself. Rose would probably be furious, and I didn't want her to be angry again.

I look at Rose, who's already looking at me. As our eyes meet, she quickly looks away.

I've always admired Rose. She's always been brave, a true Gryffindor. She's smart, but still doesn't pay attention in class, which has lead to many hours of me helping her with her homework the night before submission. Not that she needs any help. She's brilliant, and she studies a lot, although in the last minute. She's so careless, but still so afraid to do something wrong. And that's why I'm so fascinated. She's so different. Different from all the other girls at school. Of course, it's not _just_ because of her personality. She's got a hot body too. What? I'm a guy, after all.

''Well, that was awkward.'' she suddenly says. I immediately understand what she's referring to.

''He took it kinda well after all.''

''I hope Anna won't mind.'' she says, frowning. I shake my head. Now is the perfect opportunity to tell her. I really should.

''Oh, she won't.'' I just say. For some reason, I don't feel like telling her just yet. She just looks up at me, searching my face. I put on my pokerface, and try not to laugh. She's so funny when she's suspicious.

We reach the hall, and walk inside. As usual, Rose tugs at my sleeve, and I follow her to the Gryffindor table, where her friends and Albus already are seated. As we sit down, he coughs, concealing a chuckle. He's obviously not going to give me any peace. I glare at him from across the table. He's seated next to Zabini, who's glaring at Anna, who's sitting next to me. There's a tension at the table. We eat in complete silence. Have I missed something?

''Can you pass me the pumpkin juice, Jennie?'' Anna suddenly asks Zabini, who looks like she's about to kill someone. Hopefully, it's not me.

''No, I don't think so.''

''Bitch.'' I hear Anna mutter. What the hell's going on here? They're supposed to be best friends.

''You certainly are.'' Jennie bites back. Oh, _burn_. I look at Rose, like I always do in situations like these. She's always calm. But right now, she doesn't seem calm at all. Her mouth is slightly open and her eyes have expanded. It's adorable.

I search the table. Zabini and Anna are having a glaring contest, Albus is coughing even louder, and the other Gryffindors around the table are looking at us.

''Really? What the _hell_ is your problem?''

''You are. You and your _stupid_ boyfriend!''

Why is it that these people always have to bring _me_ in to things?

''You're just jealous!''

Rose flinches, probably reliving the same memory as me.

''Jealous? You're the one who's _denying_ things!'' Zabini swings her legs over the bench.

''There's _nothing_ to deny!'', Anna screams, attracting looks from the other tables. Zabini looks hurt. She slowly rises from the bench. When she speaks, her voice is full of venom.

''No? Fine, then. Do what you want. Snog Malfoy. I don't give a _fuck_.''

Once again, she brings me in to things. I'm completely innocent. Anna looks seriously pissed off now, Rose is gaping even more, and Albus isn't even chuckling anymore.

''Fine.'', Anna simply says. Oh wait, she's not-

Anna grabs my tie and pulls me to her. What the-? She presses her lips against mine in a desperate way. I have no choice but to kiss her back. I can't abandon her right now. I hear surprised gasps in the background, people whistling and cheering, and teachers complaining.

''Jennie!'' I hear Rose scream. And then I hear footsteps, possibly Roses.

* * *

><p><strong>Jennies POV<strong>

''Jennie!'' Rose screams behind me. I have no intention of turning around and walking back, so I make a quick escape through the doors. I'm so angry I could hit someone right now. Preferably Malfoy. Oh, how I hate him. And Anna. She's being so stupid! _Jealous_? _Me_? Pfft. Okay, maybe a little. But that doesn't matter! I'm not the problem here, _Anna_ is.

Can't she just admit she was going to kiss me? When she denies it, it makes me think it was all just a dream. Or a nightmare. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. I shouldn't be running around nearly kissing other girls! Even if I want to.

What would my father say if he knew I was pining after another witch? A _half-blood_ witch! He doesn't even know that I'm friends with Anna and Rose. My father was never a death-eater, but he's still suspicious towards those who aren't 'pure'. And if he would find out I'm attracted to another witch, he would probably disown me. And I like money.

''Merlin, Jennie!'', Rose screams. _Shit_. I forgot she's a fast runner. She's already catching up with me. If she does, she'll ask what's going on. And I can't tell her. I want to. But I can't. I run even faster,hoping she won't catch up with me. I spot a broom closet, and run towards it. Yeah, I know it's pathetic to hide, but what else can I do? Just in time, I run inside and close the door behind me. I hear Roses footsteps outside. After a while, they fade away.

* * *

><p><strong>Roses POV<strong>

Oh, Merlin! Why is there always so much drama surrounding me? Why can't I just get to live a normal life? Y'know, go to Hogsmeade with a nice guy, hang out with my friends and have a normal family. No, of course I can't. Instead, I'm in love with my best friend, my two best friends hate each other, and my family members are completely mental. Yep, that's my life.

I can't find Jennie either. She ran off, just like that. Fortunately, that gave me a reason to run too. I wouldn't be able to stand another second in The Great Hall, watching Scorpius and Anna snog. _Eew_.

Since I can't find her, and I'm not going to go back, I'm left with nowhere to go. I could go to the common room and wait for my first class to start. Yeah, I'll do that. I turn around, and set off towards the tower. After a quick glance at the clock, I realise that I'm in more of a hurry than I thought. I quickly get to my dorm, get my things and set off towards my first class. Scorpius, Anna, Albus and Jennie are nowhere to be seen.

As I round a corner, I nearly run in to someone. Someone tall, wearing a Slytherin robe. Oh please, don't be Scorpius! I look up, expecting to look in to a pair of steel-grey eyes, but instead find myself staring in to a pair of brown ones, belonging to Alex Nott. He flashes a bright smile at me. I smile back.

''Hey, Rose, I was just looking for you.''

''Scorpius and Al are still at breakfast.'' I say.

''Oh, I wasn't looking for them.'' he says, like its obvious.

''I need to ask you something.'' he says, blushing. He wants to ask _me_ something? And he's _blushing_?

''Okay?''

''Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?'', he asks, looking at the ground.

He catches me by surprise. He wants to go to Hogsmeade with _me_? Hahahahahahahaha!

''Sorry, _what_?'' I ask, raising an eyebrow.

''Would you like to go to Hogsmeade? With me?'', he repeats.

Oh wait, he's serious? I consider it for a while. Alex is a sweet guy, there's no doubt about that. And I guess I like him. Ey, what the hell! Why not? It's not like Scorpius is going to confess his undying love to me anytime soon.

''I would love to.'', I say,hoping I sound sincere. '' But I have to get to class now.'' I add. I don't want to be late again. Even though it may not seem like it, I care about school. Even though I'm easily _distracted_ in class. Alex's face immediately lights up.

''Oh, great! I'll see you later!'' I walk past him, sending him a smile.

He is a great guy. He may not be the greatest, but I can live with that. You can't always get what you want.

But at least I've accomplished something today... Going to Hogsmeade with a nice guy: _Check_! Now I'll just have to get over my crush on Scorpius, make Anna and Jennie friends again, and force my cousins in to therapy. I'm already looking forward to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: Hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I added the flashback in the beginning because I wanted to clear out the confusion considering Anna and Scorpius. I hope it worked. Why Anna is acting the way she is will soon be revealed.<strong>

**Anyway, I'd be the happiest person ever if you reviewed. :) You have no idea how much I appreciate reviews. **

**/Moon**


	6. Confessions

**Author's Note: Hey! Once again, thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and alerted this story. You guys are great! :D**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling (shocker,right?) and therefore I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Jennies POV<strong>

I push John Thomas away from me.

''Get out.''

I shoo him out of the broom closet we're currently occupying. He just grunts.

I've had enough of him. Usually, it takes a few weeks to get tired of a guy. This one though, didn't even last a day. I wonder what's wrong with me.

Lately, I have been, well, _disgusted_ with these guys. I haven't been able to stand their hands all over me, their lips meeting mine, and their strong smell of cologne. It just makes me sick. Especially the cologne. After experiencing the lingering scent of jasmine in the broom closet with Anna, I can't stand their masculine smell.

Not any other part of them, for that matter. I just can't stop comparing their rough, big hands with Anna's soft, small ones. And I can't help feeling I prefer hers.

I haven't spoken to her yet. I want to, though.

I admit, the thought of apologising has crossed my mind. But I can't seem to form the words. It seems as if the not so recent events considering a certain Malfoy has made me speechless.

When they kissed, the feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn't anger (even if I felt like ripping his throat out). It was some sort of twisted jealousy. And that is what brings me to the conclusion that I am in love with Anna.

This simple thought makes my head go fuzzy. Everything is happening to fast.

I leave the broom closet. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I won't run in to someone I know. I have been able to avoid my friends all week, but I'm not so sure I can do it over the rest of the day when I haven't got any classes. They were the perfect excuse to not talk to someone.

I go round a corner when I spot a red head. _Rose_. I immediately change my direction. Oh dear god, please don't see me! Don't see me! Don't see me! Don't-

''Jennie!''

Fuck.

She saw me.

''Jennie, wait up!''

Well, there's no use in pretending I didn't hear her now. I turn around.

''Hey Rose.''

She walks up to me. ''I haven't seen you all day.'' she states in an accusing voice.

''I've been busy.''

''Have you been avoiding me?''

''Of course I haven't!'' Of course I have.

''No?'' She doesn't believe me. ''What was all that about anyway?'' She scans me while saying this, as if my clothing would reveal my deepest secrets.

''What?''

''Your fight with Anna.''Oh, _that._

''Oh. That was about me not liking her _boyfriend_.'' I spit out.

''Really?''

''Yeah.''

''Sure?''

''Mhm.''

She still doesn't believe me, I can tell. But Rose isn't the type of person who pressures people. She just nods and resumes her walk down the hall beside me. And for some reason, I'm glad she does. Seems like I need a friend after all. _Correction_: I need a friend who doesn't make me gay.

* * *

><p><strong>Albus POV<strong>

I broke up with Ashleigh today. It was horrible.

I sigh. I think I _like_ her. _Seriously_. I can't stop thinking about her. She's so amazing. And I _broke up with her_. I'm such a jerk. I sigh again.

''Hey Albus.''

I look up. The seductive voice belongs to Niela Patil, a girl in my year.

''Hello.''

''So, I was thinking, maybe you and I should meet up for some _studying_ today.''

She winks.

''I'm busy today.''

I sigh for the third time. _Ashleigh_.

''You sure?''

''Positive.''

She raises one eyebrow and walks away from me. That's when realisation dawns. I just said no to one of the hottest girls in school! And I don't even regret it. There's something seriously wrong with me.

* * *

><p><strong>Anna's POV<strong>

This is awkward. Like really awkward. Can you guess where I am right know?

I'm in the Gryffindor common room. With Jennie. We're alone. Yep, _awkward_.

She's sitting by the fire reading a letter, and I'm sitting in a couch as far away from the fire as possible.

''My father wants to disown me.'' I nearly jump in surprise as she speaks.

I peek at her from the couch. ''W-Why?'' I manage to get out.

''He found out about you and Rose.'' _Oh_. ''Oh.''

''A-Are you okay?'' I ask her, knowing how much she cares about her inheritance.

''Yeah, I'm fine. It's worth it.'' She looks up at me, smiling. And then I know I'm forgiven.

''You should read this letter though. It's hilarious.'' I walk over to her without a doubt, and sit down next to her. She hands me the letter.

_'Dear Jennifer,_

_I have been informed of your current friendship with Ms Weasley and Ms Jackson. _

_I can not accept this! My only daughter fraternizing with blood-traitors and half-bloods! Your mother and I are very disappointed in you!'_

When I reach this part I'm already laughing out loud. Mr Zabini really knows how to overreact.

_'I hope you understand that this can not go on, or your status in this family will be in danger. You should find yourself more suitable company, like Mr Malfoy for example. That boy is far more appropriate for you than those half-bloods!_

_Sincerely,_

_Your father_

''Mr Malfoy!'' I scream, laughing like crazy.

''I know!'' Jennie's laughing too. ''I _hate_ him!'' She screeches. ''No offence.'' she adds. I'm still laughing.

''Non taken.'' Suddenly, the situation doesn't seem so funny anymore. I realise that I have to tell her everything. Like, _now_.

''I'mnotdatingScorpius.'' I say, blushing.

''Sorry?'' Jennie stops laughing abruptly.

''I'm not dating Scorpius.'', I clarify, not daring to look at her.

''Oh.'' she simply says. Seconds pass. After a while, I look up at her. She's smiling at me, obviously amused. She doesn't seem very upset. Well, I guess she knows _all_ about kissing people you're not dating.

''I'm sorry.'' I say, embarrassed. She keeps smiling while moving closer to me. Our legs touch. The close proximity is reminding me of our broom-closet escapade. I swallow.

''It's okay.'' She leans in towards me, and I can smell her and she smells oh-so-good. I lean in and... Just like that, my thoughts disappear. I can't think about anything else than the feeling of her lips meeting mine and that heavenly smell. This is _right_. This is _heaven_. I feel intoxicated and I can't think clear.

My mind is still foggy when she pulls away, still smiling at me. 'Wow, that was the best kiss I've ever had' , is my only thought.

_BAM_!

The door to the common room swings open.

''Merlin's beard!'', I hear someone yell. I quickly move away from Jennie. Albus Potter walks past us, muttering under his breath.

''What's wrong, Al?'' Jennie asks. They've always been good friends. Perhaps because they share the same goal in life: To seduce as many people of the opposite sex as possible.

Albus doesn't answer her. Instead he just walks straight in to his dorm, slamming the door behind him. _Whoa_, someone's got their wand in a knot.

''Let's go find Rose. I should tell her.'', I say as I rise from the floor. Jennie just nods and follows me. She's still smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Roses POV<strong>

A week has passed since Anna and Jennie fought. It's been a horror. If there is a hell, I'm living in it. You don't believe me?

Well, let me explain the week so far. First, Alex Nott asks me out. Yeah, I know, at first it seemed great, a supermegafoxyawesomehot guy asked me out and all that.

But now I'm having a serious panic attack about this date-thing, and not the oh-my-god-I-can't-decide-what-to-wear type. No, more the oh-my-god-I-am-in-love-with-my-best-friend-and-I'm-going-out-with-his-friend-in-two-weeks type. Yep, I'm _really_ pathetic.

I actually have morals, and that may seem weird coming from a girl that's in love with someones boyfriend, but I have. I'm having serious second thoughts about this date. I'm also, _apparently_, having serious problems with not over-analysing my life.

On top of that, I haven't talked to Albus all week, since it seems like he's avoiding me.

Thing are also really tense between Anna and Jennie, and I can't seem to make either of them apologise. I talked to Jennie yesterday, and she didn't seem to want to give me any answers.

Lastly, I'm insanely jealous of Scorpius and Anna, and can't go near them without feeling like I'm being Crucio'd. _Mentally_, that is. My life is just a mess. I sigh.

Just then Alex walks over to me in all his nearly-as-hot-as-Scorpius-ness.

''I'm looking forward to Hogsmeade, Rosie.''

Then he kisses me on the cheek, winks, and walks away. Or more like struts away. _Whatever_.

Anyhow, as I watch him walk/strut down the hallway I realise something. Who cares about morals? I'm going out with a really nice/cute/funny guy and all I can think about are my stupid excuses for best friends.

And who cares about Scorpius, anyway? Yeah, I may have a silly little crush on him, but it'll go away with time, right? I shake away my thoughts, and grin. Yeah, it'll go away with time.

I am walking through the hallways from my last class when a certain blond decided to interfere with my newfound happiness. And it ain't Anna.

* * *

><p><strong>Scorpius POV<strong>

''Rose, I need to talk to you.''

I gulp. This is it. The moment. And no, I'm not going to confess I've had a crush on previously mentioned person since fourth year. This doesn't seem like the moment to do that, considering she'll be wanting to castrate me after what I'm about to tell her.

I, Slytherin-jerk extraordinaire, am about to confess the falseness of my relationship with Anna to Rose. I think it's very Gryffindor of me to willingly walk to my death.

''Oh, yeah, sure.''

She smiles brightly towards me.

''I,uh,'' I'll have you know, this is the scariest moment of my life. '',it's about Anna.'' She immediately darkens when hearing this. ''Oh.''

I inhale, preparing myself. Here we go.

''We're not really a couple.''

Silence. Just silence. A creepy, eerie silence. Then Rose opens her mouth.

''What?'' she screeches in a high-pitched voice, very unlike her own.

''We just pretended.''

''You just _pretended_?''

Oh shit, she's screaming now, looking not entirely unlike her mother when Mr. Weasley has done something stupid (which isn't rare).

''Well, yeah.''

Her face has reddened, and I feel myself go paler. I swallow.

''You_ kissed _her!'' If I thought her voice couldn't go any higher, I was wrong.

''That was because she, uhm, told me to.''

''She _told_ you to?'' I nod. ''And you did it?'' I nod again, rather nervously. ''You. You're such a...'' She pauses, probably looking for the correct adjective to describe my horribleness.

Then, all her anger seems to fade away.

''Man-whore.''

Then she cries. And fortunately, not by sadness. By laughter. Yeah, that's right, she's laughing like a maniac, now falling on her knees, over the fact that I, apparently, am a _male prostitute_.

Suddenly, I am also laughing. Laughing like crazy. I'm clutching my sides while falling to the ground, shaking with laughter. We just lay there, laughing. And that's how Anna and Zabini finds us ten minutes later.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Sooo, I hope you liked it even though it was very short. :) Review, and you'll have my unconditional love! :D<strong>

**/Moon**


	7. Amortentia

**Rose's POV**

Remember what I said about my family being crazy? It's now official.

I'm sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. On my left sits Albus, who's repeatedly banging his head in the table. Next to him sits Hugo and Lily, who's having a very heated discussion about _nargles_. Opposite from Lily and Hugo sits James, who's singing 'Weasley is our king' to our newest player on the quidditch team, Louis. Next to them is Fred and Roxanne and they're probably planning some awful prank on the Slytherins. Further down the table sits Lucy and Molly, comparing hair colours.

Well, enough about my family. Let's move on to my perfectly sane friends, shall we?

Scorpius sits to my right, and he's currently filling his plate up with enough bacon to feed a family of four. In front of me Jennie and Anna are staring at each other. I shoot Scorpius a disgusted look. He just grins.

''So, what are we going to do tomorrow, then?'' he asks us. It's Friday and tomorrow is Hogsmeade weekend. Which means I have a date with Alex Nott. _Panic_.

''We could go to Honeydukes,'' Jennie suggests, still staring at Anna.

I shift uncomfortably. Looks like I'll have to tell them. I was actually hoping I could just go to this date without telling them. Silly me.

''I'm actually busy.'' This attracts attention from my friends and relatives, but they keep singing, staring, eating, talking, comparing and hurting themselves anyway.

''With what?'' Scorpius asks, raising his eyebrows.

''A date,''

This simple statement causes chaos. Jennie and Anna diverts their gazes to me, Albus looks up at me, Hugo and Lilly stop discussing, Fred and Roxanne stops planning, Molly and Lucy stop comparing and James abruptly stops singing.

Scorpius's reaction, though, is _priceless_. He drops his fork to his plate. All colour vanishes from his face, his mouth falls open and he stares at me. Just stares. His piercing, grey gaze freezes on me, making me forget why he's staring in the first place. His eyes are so perfect it should be _illegal_. So are his lips, his cheekbones, his-

''With who?'' Anna asks me from across the table.

''Alex Nott.''

This makes Scorpius, who's still staring at me, clench his fists under the table, and my male relatives snort. The females, on the other hand, just sigh.

''Alex Nott! You lucky witch! That's one _fine_ piece of wizard,'' Jennie exclaims, making me giggle nervously. Jennie high-fives me from across the table.

''You should know!'' Anna says, giggling uncontrollably. What is it with us girls and attractive males? Jennie sniggers.

''He's a _jerk_!'' Scorpius calls out rather loudly. I stop giggling and turn to him. He looks very angry for some reason.

''What? He's your _friend_!'' I say to him.

''You shouldn't go out with him,'' he continues as if I haven't even spoken.

''Why?_''_

Scorpius looks at me, lost in thought. I can tell, because he always raises his left eyebrow unconsciously when he is.

''_Why_? Because you deserve so much better!'' he nearly yells at me, like it's obvious. But it's not. I have no idea what he's going on about.

''Like who?'' I retort a little to fiercely, blushing. I curse my genes. Secretly, I hope that he'll say something like 'like me'. But he won't. He never will.

''I don't know,'' he lowers his voice when saying this, as if embarrassed. Well, I certainly am. I look down to my plate.

''Well, I should get to class. I have... uhm... Potions,'' I mumble under my breath. It's a half-lie. I have potions, but that's in twenty minutes. I rise from my seat, and start to make my way out of the hall, careful not to meet Scorpius's eyes in the process. I walk only a few steps before hearing people following me. Oh, great. They catch up with me in the hallway.

''Rose,'' I turn around, facing Jennie. And Anna. And my relatives. Oh dear. ''We're going to have a little girl talk.'' I groan. The last time I had a girl talk with someone was with my mother about the birds and the bees.

I look at them. Jennie, Anna, Lilly, Molly, Lucy, ,Roxanne and... Louis.

''But I have potions...'' I answer.

''In twenty minutes. Now, we're having a girl talk,'' Anna finishes. She looks rather intimidating, so I don't dare to question her.

''But how can it be a girl talk if Louis's here?'' I question. Roxanne just shakes her head.

''He's basically a girl, anyway,'' she says.

''Just because I'm gay, I'm not a girl!'' he retorts, glaring angrily at her.

''I was just kidding, pretty boy,'' she says, which only makes him glare harder.

''Now, to the girl talk,'' Molly says.

''Actually it's more like an intervention,'' Lucy corrects.

''A Scorpius-vention,'' Lilly giggles. Wait, _what_?

''A _what_?'' I ask. Lily's still giggling. I send her a death-glare, which shuts her up.

''An intervention about Scorpius,'' Jennie cuts in. I stare at her, waiting for her to continue. Anna speaks up.

''We are under the impression that Scorpius Malfoy is sexually attracted to you,'' she says. Scorpius Malfoy, attracted to _me?_ Crazy bitches.

''What?'' I say for what feels like the thousand time. 'Cause really, _what_?

''That means he wants to pin you to a wall, push your skirt up and-'' Jennie says, but is interrupted by me and Louis.

''_Disgusting_, Jennie!'' we call out in choir. She just chuckles. I repeat the same word again.

''What?''

''It's obvious, darling. He can't stop staring at you. I would even go as far as saying he _loves_ you,'' Roxanne says with her typical mischievous smile. I can't help but let a small chuckle slip. The irony of this situation is overwhelming. He _loves_ me? _Impossible_.

''We're serious! Couldn't you tell how adorably jealous he was?'' A collective sigh can be heard.

I look up at them again, serious again.

''He wasn't jealous! He's just over-protective,'' I tell them. They shake their heads. It's almost scary how in-sync they are.

''He was blushing, Rose!'' This rather desperate shriek can be heard from Louis. I freeze. He was... blushing? He never blushes! Once, when I asked him about it, he said that 'Only girls and Weasleys blush'.

''He did not!''

''Oh yes, he did! When you asked who you deserve!'' Anna says triumphantly.

''If he likes me, why doesn't he tell me?'' Ha! They won't be able to answer that.

''He's been trying, Rose! He's been hitting on you all week!'' I flinch. He hasn't been_ hitting on me_! That's preposterous!

''_No_, he-''

''Oh ,_yes_! Like yesterday, when he said you could copy his homework!'' True, but-

''And remember Monday, when he told you your hair looked pretty!'' Lilly fills in. Wow, I don't even know how she knows that.

''He does that with all girls!''

''No, he doesn't! He never calls _me_ 'love'...'' Anna says.

''Or 'honey'...'' Jennie adds.

''Or 'babe'...'' Lucy adds. Jeez, I'm surprised they know all these things.

''Or 'darling'!'' Roxanne finishes.

''I get the point! But if he likes me so much,'' I say in a mocking tone to make sure they know I don't believe them at all, '' why doesn't he ask me out?''

''He's afraid you'll reject him. And besides, you're dating that git Nott!'' Jennie answers.

''Git? You just said-''

''I know what I said! But Scorpius is so much better for you, Rosie!'' Whoa, wait a minute, did Jennie just compliment Scorpius? Oh my.

''Of course he is!'' It slips out before I can stop it. Merlin, I will never hear the end of this.

''Ha! I knew it!'' Anna half-screams, pointing at me.

I put my head in my hands to hide my blush. Ugh, why do they have to know everything?

Just because he calls me 'love' sometimes, that doesn't mean he's desperately in love with me, right? I mean, I know he flirts a lot with me, in a friendly way, but he always 's best friends with Al, for crying out loud!

He's been referring to me as 'babe' more often lately, but I figured it's because he thinks I'm still angry at him over the Anna-thing.

''Ugh, I _hate_ you!'' I drop my hands and look at Jennie, not bothering to hide my blush anymore.

''No, you _love_ us, Rosie. Now, skip over to potions, realise you're in love with him, marry him and make blond Malfoy-babies. That's an order,'' Jennie says with a determined look on her face.

''You make it sound so simple,'' I answer, my voice weak. Although I'm not worried. I've already got the realise-I'm-in-love bit covered. It's the other parts I should worry about.

''It is,'' Jennie says, shooting Anna a look. They walk over to me, hook my arms in to theirs, and drag me to potions.

* * *

><p><strong>Scorpius's POV<strong>

''What in Merlin's name is your problem, mate?'' Al asks me, making me raise my head from where it's placed in my hands and shoot him a look.

''What do you mean?'' I ask him tiredly. I try to act nonchalant, even though I'm still fuming over Rose going to Hogsmeade with Nott. Stupid git. I _hate_ him.

''You could have told Rose! You had the perfect opportunity!'' he says, sounding irritated.

''Told her what?'' I say, which earns me a smack at the back of my head.

''That you like her!'' I look around the table, panicking.

''Shut it! Someone might hear you!'' I whisper to him.

''But you _do_ like-'' Al starts.

''Who do you like, Scorpy-boy?'' I hadn't even noticed James and Fred walking over to stand behind me. They put a hand on both my shoulders.

''Is it Zabini?'' Fred says. ''Or maybe Jackson?'' James adds. ''Or perhaps it's Al?'' they say in unison.

''It's Rose!'' Al half-yells, obviously sick of their rant. Their grip on my shoulders tense. I swallow.

''Interesting,'' Fred says and it's followed by a ''Very interesting, indeed,'' coming from James.

''You should tell her! She likes you too!'' Al says, as if Fred and James haven't just found out about my crush on Rose and as if Hugo hasn't scooted closer to me on the bench to hear what we're talking about.

''No she doesn't!'' I say, desperately.

''Yes, she does,'' This time it's Fred speaking. ''She keeps all the letters you send her,'' James says. ''She has a picture of you in her room,'' Fred adds. I brighten up at this.

''Really?'' I ask them.

''Yes,'' Albus, Hugo, Fred and James say together. ''And in her dorm,'' Hugo adds, sounding disgusted. ''And in her wallet,'' Al finishes, also sounding disgusted.

I can't help but smile at this. She keeps all my letters, and have pictures of me everywhere? _Aaw_.

''Yep, she likes you, and is going out with Alex Nott,'' Fred says, sitting down next to me, shooing Hugo away. James does the same. ''Question is, what are you going to do about it?'' James asks. Four pairs of expecting eyes look at me.

But the sad truth is, I have no idea.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

''Today we'll be examining one of the most dangerous potions there is,'' Slughorn bellows. That man is _ancient_.

''Amortentia,'' he adds in a very dramatic tone. This causes Anna to fall over her desk in silent laughter, and Jennie to snigger.

''Can anyone tell me something about Amortentia?'' he asks. A few hands are raised.

''Ms Edgecombe,''

''Amortentia is a love potion, which creates obsession with the brewer if consumed. It is said that it smells of what attracts you,''

I freeze in my seat.

''Yes, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, please come forth so we can examine it,''

I rise to my feet and take a few unsteady steps towards the cauldron. The smell hits me like a brick wall.

Leather, minty toothpaste, some unknown cologne and _musk_.

Oh dear.

I peek at Anna and Jennie. They've frozen in their tracks, just like me. Anna's insanely pale, and Jennie looks like she's about to vomit. Seriously. And I thought I am the one who's in love with my best friend and should be scared.

I walk over to them. Jennie has regained her composure again.

''What do you smell, _babe_?'' she teases.

''Him. I smell _him_,'' I confess. She winks at me.

''Told ya!'' I chuckle even though this in no way is _funny_.

''Excuse me, professor,'' Anna says to Slughorn. ''I don't feel very well, I think I have to go to the hospital wing,''

''Well, sure Ms Jackson, you do that,'' he answers.

''Jennie will come with me,'' she says, surprising both me and Jennie. Slughorn nods. She gives me an apologetic smile as she drags Jennie out of the classroom.

The door slams shut, and just like that, I'm left with my thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>Jennie's POV<strong>

''Anna! This is not the way to the hospital wing!'' I say to her as she drags me by my hand through the hallways. She drops my hand, turns around and closes the distance between us.

''I know,'' she whispers, before stepping even closer to me and buying her hands in my hair. The next second, she's kissing me. She's kissing me, and it's the most magical thing in the world. I kiss her back, of course. I mean, who wouldn't? It should feel wrong-kissing a girl, but it doesn't. I feels _right_.

And there we stand, snogging, for what seems like hours. She pulls back when we're both out of breath.

''So, what did you smell?'' I ask her teasingly. Her eyes meet mine, and the depth amazes me.

''I don't think I should tell you,'' she says, looking at the ground.

''I smelled you,'' I confess bluntly, but I'm not even embarrassed.

''Y-you did?'' she asks. ''Yes,''. She looks up at me again.

''M-me too,'' she says.

''You smelled you?''

''No, silly, I smelled _you,_'' she confirms, giving me a light peck on the lips.

''Wanna skip the rest of our classes and go to the lake?''

She nods.

And with those words, we smile at each other, and walk off to the lake.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! :D As usual, I want to thank all you lovely people who read this and leave me feedback in form of reviews, alerts and favourites. Thank you! <strong>

**Review, and you'll get an imaginary cookie! :)**

**Blessed be, Moon**


	8. Butterbeer

**Albus's POV**

''No!''

I didn't know one word could hurt so much.

''Come on, Ash! I said I was sorry.'' I plead. She turns to look at me.

''No, Al! You broke up with me.'' she yells. If there's anyone I know by the lake that can hear this, I'm going to have a hard time explaining it later.

''And I regret it! Please, Ashleigh, be my girlfriend again.'' I plead. She seems to soften a bit.

''Al, I know what you do to girls.'' she says, her voice weak.

''You're different.'' I say, hoping I sound sincere. She doesn't say a word, just looks at me. If she won't take me back, I don't know what I'll do.

''Why should I believe you?'' she finally asks. I'm stunned. What the hell am I supposed to say? I don't know. If I was her, I would never forgive me. Ugh, this is so hard.

''B-because you are! I promise!'' Okay, that sounds lame even to me.

''Prove it.'' she says. I blink. What?

''What?''

''Prove it.'' she repeats. She wants me to... prove it? How am I supposed to do that?

She turns to leave. I try to say something, but no words will come out. Instead, I watch her back as she leaves. I feel... weird. My heart feels heavy, like I'm having a heart attack or something.

I sit down by the lake. My eyes are burning, like I'm about to cry. That's funny. I never cry. I stifle a sob. What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling so sad all of the sudden? When did life get so complicated? And how am I supposed to prove to her that she's different?

* * *

><p><strong>Jennie's POV<strong>

''What the _hell_ am I supposed to wear?'' Rose cries. I laugh at her. It's so cute that she's freaking out so much. She's tried on at least eight different outfits by now.

''Wear something slutty!'' I yell at her from where I lay on my bed. I know it'll irritate her. Anna laughs. Rose spins around with a crazy expression on her face.

''I will not wear something _slutty_!'' she screams at me. I flinch in horror. She's scary when she's nervous. I look down at Anna, who's already staring at me from her bed.

''Are you going?'' she asks.

''No.''

''Oh.'' Her face falls.

''I have no one to go with.'' I say, but it's nearly drowned by Rose groaning loudly.

''You could go with me.'' Anna suggests. I freeze. What does she mean 'go with her'?

''Go with you?'' I ask. She blushes.

''I mean, er, as...'' She starts.

''A couple?'' I ask, and beg to God Rose didn't hear me.

''Yeah.'' Anna's looking down at her lap now. I raise my eyebrows at her. She wants to make us official?

''We can't do that. My father-'' I start desperately. She cuts me off mid-sentence.

''You're right. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I'll just go with Scorpius and Al.'' she rambles on.

I can't help but feel a little sorry for what I said. Would it really be that bad if my father found out? Probably, yeah.

My thoughts are suddenly interrupted by someone barging in to our dorm. Ashleigh Brown. I don't really know her. She's in our year, but she's not very often in the dorm or the common room. And I don't share a lot of classes with her. She groans loudly, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

''What's wrong, Ashleigh?'' Rose asks. Strange, I didn't know they knew each other.

''It's Al.'' she says. Then she begins explaining, and I really don't care. Instead, I think of Anna. Why does things have to be so complicated?

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

I end up talking to Ashleigh. She's actually very nice, and not at all an airhead, like I expected.

I find out that Al wants her back, but that she's afraid he'll just use her. I give her a sympathetic look.

She also tells me that she has her mother's last name instead of her father's because his last name is horrible. Apparently, I shouldn't even ask.

We talk about blokes she's dated (very many) and blokes I've dated (Johnny Davies, Austin Green and John Thomas) She explains all this while letting me try on her dresses. Her very short and revealing dresses.

I end up choosing a dark blue dress, which apparently matches my eyes. It is, indeed, _very_ revealing. Al would have been proud. She fixes my hair, plucks my eyebrows and puts make-up on me. I don't even mind. I actually find that I enjoy speaking to her.

When she's done, she pats my back and tells me that ''Malfoy won't know what hit him'.

''What? I'm not going out with _him_!'' I desperately explain. She smiles at me.

''I didn't say that.'' she says smugly. I don't know what to say. If being in love with Scorpius won't kill me, I'm sure people implying he likes me will.

I take one last look in the mirror. I don't think I've ever looked this pretty, with straight hair, rosy cheeks, and perfectly shaped eyebrows. If only Scorpius would be here, perhaps he would see me as something else than a best friend. If only...

I leave my dorm with one last nervous look at Anna and Jennie, who are fox-whistling jokingly.

I walk through the hallways on unsteady legs. A lot of people look at me, shocked, like they don't recognise me. I just roll my eyes at them. I reach the Great Hall, where I'm supposed to meet Alex. He's not there yet, but someone else is. Scorpius. He's standing there, talking to a sulking Al and patting his back.

''Hey!'' I yell at them. They both look up. Al just nods at me, and goes back to sulking. Scorpius, on the other hand, looks at me. He pats Al's back again, which nearly causes him to fall over. Yeah, this is awkward.

I twirl around in front of them, hoping I'll lighten up the mood.

''How do I look?'' I ask.

''A-a-a.'' Scorpius stutters. His eyes are so wide I'm afraid they'll plop out any second. He doesn't say a thing. Al decides to give him a hand.

''You look amazing, Rose.'' he says. I smile at him, probably blushing. We stand there for a while, me blushing, Al sulking and Scorpius staring. God, am I usually _that_ ugly? Is my change _so_ baffling?

''Hello.'' someone says from behind me, as a pair of cold hands wrap themselves around my waist. Alex.

''Oh, hey.'' I giggle nervously. I wriggle out of his grip. He seems unfazed, and instead, he just takes my hand. He looks at Scorpius and Al, both of which are staring at him. And I thought things were awkward before.

''Hi Al. Scorpius.'' He nods at both of them respectively. They keep staring. Al doesn't say a thing. I can't help but notice the tension in the air. Have I missed something crucial?

''Oh, hello _Alex_.'' Scorpius says cheerily. But he's not really cheery, I can tell. And I thought he'd gotten over the initial shock of me going out with Alex. _Boys_. I sigh.

''We should get going, _Alex_.'' I say, mimicking Scorpius's tone. He gives me a disapproving look. Pfft. He's disapproving?

I've been on like_ three dates_ since I got to know him and none of them ended very well. And y'know what? He's been disapproving _every single time_.

He doesn't let me have any fun. He always ruins things with his disapproving looks and overall over-protective behaviour. He's even worse than my cousins!

The weirdest part of all this is that Scorpius has been on countless dates, none of which I disapproved of! No, I kept my comments about his silly airhead girlfriends to myself. I think I deserve an award for that, actually.

If I wasn't so hopelessly in love with him, I would seriously hit him. And if I wasn't on a date with Alex, of course. I grimace at Scorpius as I tug at Alex's hand and we leave The Great Hall.

Before I know it, we're out of the castle, on our way to Hogsmeade. I try to strike up conversation.

''So, how's quidditch going, then?'' I ask. Not that I care about _stupid_ Slytherin and their _silly_ quidditch team.

''Great. But Al is pushing us a little _too_ hard, if you know what I mean.''

''I know what you mean, James is exactly the same.''

After that, the conversation kinda dies out.

He leads me to The Three Broomsticks, where we apparently are supposed to spend this date. Alex gets us a table in a corner, where we can avoid the prying eyes of other Hogwarts students.

He orders two butterbeers. We small talk after the waitress leaves. About the weather, school, and _him_.

Yep, we spend almost five minutes just talking about him. Apparently, he likes talking about himself. The waitress brings us our butterbeers and apologises for keeping us waiting. Alex keeps going on about 'that one time he pranked Derek' and I mute him out. Ugh, this is frustrating.

I smile at him, and nod at the right places. Suddenly, something he says catches my attention.

''-and did you see Scorpius's face? And I didn't think he was serious on the quidditch pitch.'' I nod slightly at this, before I realise what he just said. The quidditch pitch! When Scorpius said they were discussing. By the time I've realised that, he's already going on about something else.

''Wait! What did he say on the quidditch pitch?'' I ask him. He looks up at me, slightly irritated after being interrupted mid-sentence, but still responds.

''He said I shouldn't ask you out.'' he says, as if it's nothing. I completely freak out. Now he's meddling with my love-life?

''He _what_?'' Merlin, I'm going to kill that smug son of a-

''He said I shouldn't ask you out, because apparently you're too good for me.'' he says, laughing, like that's ludicrous. ''Personally, I think that he just wants you to himself. Really, he can't just keep you away forever, especially as a lot of guys want to date you.'' he rambles.

I notice him putting his hand on my knee under the table, but I don't care.

I'm trying to process what he just told me. Scorpius talking to Alex. Scorpius thinking I'm too good for Alex. Scorpius wanting me to himself. A lot of people wanting to date me. This situation is almost as fucked up as my life.

''Then, why are you only the third person to ask me out?'' I ask, more to myself than to him.

''Well, most guys are intimidated by Scorpius, of course. Since he beat Johnny Davies up, at least.'' he answers. I nearly spit out my drink. He beat up Johnny Davies? The guy who told me I was too ugly for him in fourth year? Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.

''Rose, are you okay? You look a little pale.'' Alex asks me, looking concerned. I plaster a fake smile on my lips.

''I'm fine.'' I answer him.

''Do you want to leave?'' he asks. I nod. We leave the table after he leaves the payment on it. He puts an arm around my shoulders and buries his head in my hair. I let him. Even though I can't help but think of the way Scorpius does that too.

* * *

><p><strong>Anna's POV<strong>

Rose doesn't see me, Scorpius and Al hunching at a table near the entrance to the Three Broomsticks. That's fortunate, because as they pass us, when what's-his-name puts an arm around her and buries his face in her hair, Scorpius freaks out. Seriously. With a snap, the glass he's been holding is destroyed. He curses. I snicker.

''You're pathetic, mate.'' Al says.

''We all are, aren't we?'' I say absent-mindedly. They immediately begin to protest.

''Well, neither of us are here with the one we really want to be with, right?'' I ask. That shuts them up.

''Who do you want to be with, then?'' Al asks. He's already told me and Scorpius everything about Ashleigh Brown so I know he wants to be with her, and Scorpius is kinda obvious.

''If I told you, I'd have to kill you.'' I say sadly. I can't pretend I'm happy when I'm not. I was really hoping Jennie would want to go with me. Apparently, her father's opinion means more to her than me.

''Can't you tell us _anything_?'' Al whines. I roll my eyes.

''My mom wouldn't approve.'' I say in lack of anything else. Al looks at me with a bored expression on his face.

''Why?'' Scorpius asks.

''He's a pureblood.'' I say, leaving out the part about 'he' being a 'she'. It's true though.

My mother's got a lot of prejudice towards purebloods, so she probably wouldn't approve. Jennie's a pureblood. That's one of the reasons I don't get along with my mother.

''Is that why-?'' Scorpius starts. I immediately know what he's talking about.

''Yes.'' I say. I actually kissed a guy I don't like to piss off my mother. I don't know if I should be disgusted or amazed with my own stupidity.

''I'm sorry, by the way. For messing things up between you and Rose.'' I say. I really should have said that earlier. It's so clear they're meant to be together. And I messed it up. I feel like the worst person _ever_.

''No, it's okay. Anything to help a friend.'' Scorpius says, smiling. I smile back at him. He really is a great guy. ''And besides, there wasn't anything to mess up. She clearly doesn't like me.'' he says sadly. I feel strangely sad for him. This is the exact way I used to feel about Jennie.

''You can't know that.'' I hastily say, hoping it'll wipe that sad look off his face.

''Yes. She's going out with Nott, isn't she?'' he says, still sadly. Al decides to tribute.

''That's because she doesn't know how you feel! Why don't you just tell her?'' he says exasperatedly. I smack my forehead with my palm. Gosh, he's tactless. Scorpius goes in to defensive mode. He's kinda like Rose in that way.

''Why don't _you_ tell Ashleigh how _you_ feel?'' he snaps. I roll my eyes.

''I don't know.'' Al says. We end up sitting there in silence, inwardly cursing love for messing up our lives.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

''Soo.'' Alex says. _So_. The dreaded word. Usually, I would be worried sick for the verdict, if he wants another date or not. I'm not now, though. I can't bring myself to care. Sure, Alex is great, although a little full of himself, and I like him. I just don't _like_ him.

''This was fun.'' he continues. I look up at him, smiling.

''Yeah, it was.'' I say. I'm not lying, I've really had fun. We've visited different shops, walked around, and talked. It's been fun, I guess. And it's successfully taken my mind away from Scorpius for about half of the time.

''Do you want to do this again?'' he asks, looking down at his feet. I swallow, suddenly struck by panic. I've never been one more than one date with someone. I've always turned them down, with the exception of Johnny Davies, who chucked me when I didn't want to kiss him.

What am I supposed to say? If I say yes, does that mean I'm his girlfriend? Ugh! Someone really should write a book about stuff like this.

''Sure.'' I say. It's not like Scorpius is here to stop me. _Hah_! Scorpius will be so angry when he hears about this.

''Good.'' Alex mumbles. I smile at him.

Suddenly, my smiling lips are covered with his. At first, I don't know how to react. I just stand there, letting him kiss me. Then I kiss him back. And I don't even mind when he pulls me even closer by putting his hands in my hair. I'm too busy thinking.

I wonder how Scorpius kisses. Does he kiss better than Alex, or worse? Better, I think. I'll have to ask Anna.

Ugh, I'm doing it again, aren't I? Bringing Scorpius in to things that really doesn't relate to him in any way. I'm even annoying myself. I need to stop.

Our kiss ends, and I admit to myself that he's not such a bad snog after all. This boyfriend-thing might work. He takes my hand, and we walk to the Entrance Hall. We part, but not before him kissing me one last time.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey! I really meant to get this chapter up earlier, but a lot of things got in the way. I got really caught up in a oneshot I'm working on and I slept at a friend's house. Then, I lost my internet connection, so I couldn't upload this until' now. So, sorry, I really wished I could have finished this chapter earlier! <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed it, anyway! Keep reviewing! I love y'all! :D**


	9. Friendship

**Jennies POV**

Stuff obnoxious boyfriends, jealous best friends, prejudiced pureblood fathers and unrequited love in to a castle and what do you get?

Hogwarts.

I'm currently sitting at breakfast with Rose, Malfoy, Anna, Alex Nott and Albus.

I'm confused, Rose is annoyed, Malfoy is jealous, Anna is angry, Alex is obnoxious, and Albus is sad. Aren't we just the funniest lot?

''_Please_, Alex, not here.'' Rose says tiredly.

I look up from my father's twentieth letter in two months to focus on Rose. She's pushing Alex away, who's very keen to snog her. He apparently didn't get it the first three times she told him that she didn't want to kiss him in public this morning.

Personally, I just think she doesn't like him. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I _hope_ she doesn't. I'm on Team Scorpius, no matter how repelling the thought is.

I look around the table. Anna's giving my letter _the_ death-glare. We're currently in a 'she-wants-us-to-tell-everyone about-us-but-I-don't-think-we-should-because-of-my-father' situation. Hence the glare.

Albus is looking over to where his crush, Ashleigh Brown is sitting at the other end of the table with a dreamy expression. It's sickly sweet how in love he is.

And who'd have guessed? Albus Potter finally falling in love? A few months ago, that thought was almost as silly as the thought of _me _falling in love.

Yet we both did. I'm glad for him, though. Al is one of my best friends. We're not necessarily hanging out all the time, but we still have an unbreakable bond. I think of him as my male counterpart.

Counterpart or not, this bond exists between me and all my friends.

Even _Malfoy_, who I reluctantly am considering calling by first name from now on. I don't know why I dislike him really, a part from being an arrogant prat. I guess I'll have to get used to him, especially as he'll be around a lot when Rose finally chucks her annoying-but-hot boyfriend and realises that she's meant to be with Malfoy.

Okay, I'll stop thinking about that now. It's grossing me out. 

_Anyhow,_ Albus still hasn't figured out how to woo the girl of his dreams.

Scorpius has his head buried in a book, which he started to read when Rose and Alex began snogging in front of him. He says it helps calm his nerves.

I shake my head. It's been two months since all this started, and we still haven't sorted it out. We're pathetic. I turn back to read the letter that I probably won't answer.

_'Fine then, Jennifer, don't listen. I'll just have you know that your mother and I are very upset.' _

So he's trying to guilt me in to stop being with my friends now? This means he's desperate. He'll probably give up soon then. Good.

I focus on the words hard, blaming them for my father completely disregarding my friend-finding abilities. I'm startled as they suddenly vanish.

''Hey.'' a soft voice says. I look up at Anna, who's folding my letter carefully.

''Let's forget about your father for a while.'' she says, throwing the letter away.

I'm relieved. It's strange how much I'm affected by his words.

Anna extends a hand for me to take. I questioningly raise my eyebrows, but reach out for it anyway. She pulls me to my feet from the bench, and starts leading my away from the Gryffindor table.

''We'll go to class early!'' she informs the others. Malfoy looks startled, probably afraid of being left alone with his own jealousy and a mad Potter. For a millisecond I feel sorry for him. Then I forget all about it as I leave the Great Hall with Anna.

* * *

><p><strong>Anna's POV<strong>

I lead Jennie from the hall with her hand in mine.

It's funny how things have changed since we started our Sixth year. I've kissed Scorpius and Jennie and fallen in love with the latter.

If someone had told me I would be in love with Jennie Zabini a year ago I probably would have laughed at them. Love is a mysterious thing.

I lead Jennie to outside the Charms classroom. Neither professor Flitwick or the rest of the students are there. I take a deep breath, and turn to Jennie. She's watching me with an amused expression.

''Jennie, I need to tell you something.'' I say to her. Her face falls. I take her hands in mine.

''You're right. You've been right all along. I can't force you to choose between me and your family. If you want to keep us a secret, I'm totally okay with it.''

I take a deep breath when finishing. Gosh, it feels weird to say that. Especially as I'm totally _not _okay with it_._ But it had to be said.

After Rose got together with that Alex-guy, I've been taking the job as the peacemaker in our little group. I helped hold Scorpius back when he wanted to kill Alex, told him about the downsides of being in Azkaban and gave him a muggle novel for stress relief.

I taught Alex that it's not okay to call Jennie 'Jen-Jen' or she _will_ kill you, told Rose that we love her, but PDA is _not_ okay when we're around and tried to give Albus advice on how to win Ashleigh back.

I consider all this retribution for my past sins. And this feels like something I had to do.

Seeing Jennie's disappointed face every time she received one of her fathers many letters was just too much. And I can't force her to choose. It may have something to do with fear for her not choosing me too.

I continue when she doesn't speak.

''And I'm sorry I haven't-'' I'm interrupted by her placing a finger on my lips. A grin spreads across her face. Is that a good thing? I don't know. She places both her hands on my shoulders.

''This is why I love you, Anna Jackson.'' she says softly. My eyes widen. She loves me? She-. She loves me!

''Y-you love me?'' I stutter. She keeps on grinning.

''How could I not?'' she whispers, barely audible. And those are the words that I will never forget, no matter what happens. The most beautiful words ever spoken. I can't help but return her smile.

''I love-''

She kisses me soundly, successfully muting me. I kiss her back with new force. So this is what love feels like? So wonderful, overwhelming, wrecking, bittersweet. I could go on describing it all day.

We stand there in the abandoned hallway forever, it feels like. Nothing but the sound of my thoughts surrounds me.

She loves me and I love her.

I love her and she loves me.

Nothing else matters.

* * *

><p><strong>Roses POV<strong>

I move through the hallways with a speed I thought was impossible when walking. I round corner after corner, with only Scorpius's and Al's quiet bickering and my own heavy sighs to distract me from my goal.(''You stepped on my shoe!'' ''Did not!'' ''Did too!'' ''Did not!'' Sigh)

I don't doubt that Scorpius actually stepped on Al's shoe.

They've been annoyed with each other ever since I announced my new boyfriend. I have no idea why. Scorpius stared at me, just stared, until' he was pulled away by Al, who immediately started a hushed conversation with him. A conversation which I couldn't hear.

I chose not to ponder over that, but instead snogged Alex again.

Anything to annoy that lovely possessive git I call the love of my life.

I did not just think that, did I?

Anyway, I have more important things to worry about right now.

Jennifer Esther Zabini.

I'm going to question her about the letter currently in my possession. I took Al and Scorpius with me for moral support. Alex stayed behind to finish his breakfast.

The letter says she has to stop spending time with us or she'll be disowned. Apparently, it's 'one of many', if I am to take the word of one Blaise Zabini. _One of many_! That means she hasn't told us! We could have been there for her. Offered moral support! Anything!

I admit that the fact that I'm slightly irritated _may_ have something to do with Alex's taste for snogging me in public. Whatever.

I have to find Jennie now. I rush through the hallways, looking for her. She's probably by the Charms classroom, if she really went where Anna said they would.

I'm about to round the corner when I hear smacking sounds. Probably a couple snogging.

I hush Al and Scorpius, and they immediately quieten. Although that doesn't stop them from glaring at each other. I roll my eyes.

I signal for them to stay where they are, as if I'm about to approach a wild animal. Not really.

I'm actually just going to give the couple a scare. They deserve it for snogging in a hallway where everyone can see them.

I count down in my head.

_One_. I creep closer to the corner.

_Two_. I prepare to leap.

_Three_. I leap from my hiding place to where I've estimated the couple standing.

The 'Hah!' gets stuck in my throat when the shocked faces of the couple make sense in my head.

Brown eyes, arched eyebrows, straight nose, dark skin and full lips. Jennie.

Big blue eyes, high cheekbones, small nose, pale skin, and pink, slightly swollen lips. Anna.

_Jennie_ and _Anna_.

_Anna_ and _Jennie_.

_Snogging_.

_Anna_ and _Jennie_ _snogging_.

What is this, I don't even-?

The scream escapes my throat without my permission.

Immediately, Scorpius leaps from around the corner, quickly followed by Al, their wands drawn, ready to save the damsel in distress. If you call it distress to find your two best female friends snogging each other.

Actually, I feel rather traumatised. _One_ snogging couples consisting of best friends is enough for one term. Hell, it's enough for a _lifetime_. I could live peacefully without the knowledge of where Anna places her hands when snogging someone. And I've already found out. _Twice_.

''Rose! What happened? Are you-''

The sound of them dropping their wands to the ground echoes. I take Scorpius's hand to steady myself. He gently squeezes it. I ignore the sparks that travel through my skin with his touch.

Al takes a hold of Scorpius's arm desperately, probably to prevent himself from falling. It's ironic, how symbolic this is. Both me and Al relying on Scorpius for support, with him asking for nothing in return. No one says a thing.

There we stand, me, Al and Scorpius. Three people that don't know what hit them.

There they stand, Anna and Jennie, holding each others hands. Two people that don't know what to say. Or shall I say _one _person that doesn't know what to say.

''Is there something you need to tell us, Al?'' Jennie muses, seemingly untouched by what we just found her doing.

With that remark, Al loses his grip on Scorpius's shoulder. I suppress a neurotic laugh. Jennie always knows what to say.

''What is this?'' I screech in a very high pitched voice.

Okay, maybe that's overdoing it, but give me a break! These are the people that knew me when I went through my goth-phase, and I just found them _snogging_, for crying out loud!

Someone should hold me right know. Preferably Scorpius. With a bare chest. In his dorm. In-.

Whoa! Erase bad thoughts. Erase bad thoughts _now_.

''We were meaning to tell you!'' Anna screams at us as her face quickly reddens. She doesn't let go of Jennie's hand though.

''Tell us what?'' Al asks suspiciously.

''That we're in love.'' Jennie says, ignoring Anna's red face. She's always been the blunt one. One of her more admirable qualities, if you were to ask me.

I hear the words, but I can't seem to process them. My brain feels unnaturally slow. They're in love? In _love_? What is this _love_ they speak of?

When Jennie lifts their intertwined fingers to her lips and whispers something sweet to Anna that makes her smile it clicks. They're _in_ _love_. _In love_. I feel a smile play on my lips.

Al is the first one to react. He walks over to them and clumsily envelopes them both in an awkward hug. He mumbles something I can't hear, and they respond to his embrace.

It's funny how much his relationship with Anna and Jennie have improved lately. Thanks to Anna's helpfulness and Jennie's closeness to her, he's been hanging out with them a lot.

I and Alex have mostly been somewhere else, and no one meets Scorpius a lot either. He's mostly in the library, or in his dorm.

Ugh, I've been such a bad friend! I've barely hung out with my friends at all, besides from breakfast.

I haven't helped Al at all, ignored Scorpius, and not noticed Anna and Jennie's romance. All because of my stupid vendetta against Scorpius.

I'm a bad, bad person. With bad, bad thoughts about my none-boyfriends bare chest.

''Rose?'' Scorpius mumbles. Speak of the devil. Or more like think of the devil. Or fantasise about the devil. _Whatever._

He looks at me with a strange expression on his face. Y'know that expression you sometimes see on someone's face and you can't for the life of you figure out what it means.

''You can let go of my hand now.'' he says. Oh. I feel my ears heat up. He gives me a strange look again. Not the same one though. No, this one is more the 'what-the-hell-have-you-been-smoking-?' look.

I blink rapidly, returning to my normal state of clarity. Hah! See what I did there? I have no state of clarity, so it's impossible for me to return to it!

...

Nevermind.

''Oh, right.'' I says, sounding painfully stupid.

I drop his hand like it's on fire. Which it is. Just a different kind of fire. The kind that sends shivers up your spine of pure ecstasy from holding it.

...

I have no shame, have I?

I look up at him once again, and he's giving me that pitying look. The kind of look you give people that embarrasses themselves enough to last a lifetime. I get that look a lot.

Shit. I've completely made a fool of myself, haven't I? I lower my face so he won't be able to see my blush, and quickly scurry over to Jennie and Anna.

''I'm so happy for you guys!'' I say to them, smiling.

I really am. My best friends, finally happy. And better yet, happy _together_.

This means I won't have to lose any of them to a Hufflepuff named _Josh. _I nearly shiver at the thought. Not that I know any Hufflepuff named Josh. I'm just saying that if there is a Hufflepuff named Josh, he's probably evil. Okay, enough with the crazy.

I lean in and hug Anna and Jennie respectively. As I embrace the latter, she hoarsely whispers in my ear.

''Now it's just you and loverboy over there left.''

As I hastily pull away from her, she winks and nods over to where Scorpius is standing. '_Loverboy_' Scorpius. I blush immediately.

I try to answer, but before I can, I'm ambushed by Scorpius and Al, who, after a quick look at each other envelopes me, Anna and Jennie in a bear hug. I laugh at their antics.

''Friends again?'' Scorpius asks, probably referring to the two months of distance in our little group.

''If we survive this suffocation.'' Jennie says softly. I'm surprised to hear her laugh at the end of that sentence, as if she really doesn't care about hugging Scorpius Malfoy, whom she claims to hate.

I feel warmth well up from within me. No matter what, no matter how many fake relationships, fights, crushes and lies, they'll always be there.

I'll always have them to cling to when things get way to fucked up for even _my_ liking. Like right now, for example.

I smile, not even caring about the students starting to fill up the hall. We just stand there, hugging each other for the sake of friendship.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hullo, lovelies! I'm not even remotely sure about what went through my mind when writing this chapter of insanity (something about friendship?) but I still hope you enjoyed it! That's really all that matters, isn't it? <strong>

**Anyhoo, I just want to let y'all know that I won't be able to write anything over the weekend, as I'm going backpacking! So, that means the next chapter won't be up in a while, and I won't be able to answer the reviews I hopefully will be getting for this chapter. **

**Okay, now I'm done rambling, and I hope y'all will read, enjoy, review and all that jazz.**

**Just one last shoutout to every lovely person that makes my inbox filled with mails from FF: I love you! No, I _lurve_ you! You guys are great! (I'm an exclamation point abuser.)**

**Now I have to go packing.  
><strong>

**Lots of _lurve_, Moon**


	10. Breakup

**Jennies POV**

Things are good right now. Actually, I think this is about as good as life can get. I've got great friends, an amazing girlfriend, and I haven't failed any class yet. Everything seems to be progressing pretty well.

Even for Al, who has finally spoken to Ashleigh, even though it was just about the weather. Rose is doing just great, I think. She doesn't seem as annoyed with Alex these days, which is a nice change from all her previous anger.

Scorpius is doing just fine, and hasn't showed a single sign that Alex bothers him. They're even talking to each other!

Well, everything's just fine, and amazing and all that. Almost too amazing.

My life feels like a ticking bomb, ready to explode any second, and shatter everything in its presence. It's just too good to be true, y'know.

My father's stubborn letters, Al and Scorpius's quiet conflict, Rose's suppressed feelings and the whole Alex-mess is hovering as a dark cloud over our otherwise perfect lives. Something's going to happen, I just know it.

Speaking of nothing in particular, the snow has started to fall. It's covered Hogwarts in a thin layer of what looks like white powder. It's an amazing sight to look at, and that's the reason I currently am.

I've never been that person, really. A person that sits in silence just watching something. It's good for thinking though, which I've been finding myself doing much lately.

Right now, I'm alone, though, so I think it's completely acceptable to do nothing at all. All the others have run off somewhere else. Scorpius and Rose have escaped to the library with Anna, and Al is nowhere to be found.

A quick glance at the clock tells me it's nearly dinner time. I grab some book from Rose's bedside table, in hopes of being entertained while waiting for the others to show up. The first thing that meets me in the common room is the lovely sight of a tangled mess of limbs occupying the couch. Oh, great. Now I can't even sit in my own couch?

I walk over to an armchair not far away from the couch, hoping to get a glimpse of the couple. A head covered with messy black hair gives me a hunch. The Slytherin robes reveals it all. How did Al get in to our common room? Wait... Ashleigh, she's a Gryffindor...

Is it-? It can't be? Really!

That bloke sure got some 'talking' skills if he got her to make out with him. I have to admit, I'm impressed.

I look away quickly when their hands start to travel waaay out of place. Instead, I read Rose's book. It's about some muggle girl called Katniss, and actually very entertaining. I find myself completely lost in the book.

''Al, I can't do this.''

I snap my head up.

''Do what, exactly?''

''Look, I don't know if you're going to do this with some other girl tonight-''

''No!''

''-or if you even like me-''

''Of course!''

''-or if you're even interested in having a relationship with me.''

Both me and Ashleigh glare at Al, waiting for his response. He looks at his lap. I try to telepathically urge him to just tell her yes. It obviously doesn't work. If only there was a spell for these sort of things.

''Come back when you know what you want from me.'' Ashleigh, says, and rises from the couch.

No! Don't go! Don't make him all depressed again! She leaves after a quick intake of breath. As the door to out dorm shuts, Al sighs and puts his head in his hands. I can't believe this! This-this... madness! I don't understand boys at all. Thank god I'm a lesbian.

I turn back to 'my' book again. As if sensing my disinterest, I hear Al leave through the portrait hole.

It's not long before it swings open again. Oh dear, do these people ever leave me alone? Don't they have books to borrow or girlfriends to snog, or hallways to roam?

Obviously not, I notice, as Scorpius steps in. What is it with Slytherins and our common room? Can't they just stay in the dungeons where they belong?

He walks inside, and is quickly followed by Rose the traitor, who probably let him in, and Anna who let her. Boy, am I going to rage on her.

They, apart from Al, notice me immediately. That doesn't keep them from arguing though. They've been doing that a lot since what I call 'the Great Revelation'. Y'know, them finding out that I'm in a relationship with Anna and all that.

''You're completely delusional! We're going to wipe the quidditch pitch with you.'' Rose says to Scorpius. It reminds me of the quidditch game versus Slytherin a few days away. Anna walks over to sit beside me on the chair.

''Keep on dreaming, love.'' he responds, brushing past Rose to sit in an armchair close to mine.

''You're the one who's dreaming.'' I exchange a look with Anna.

''I don't think so. We're going to _destroy_ you.''

''You're so annoying.'' Rose snaps as she sits down in another armchair. I roll my eyes.

''And you're-''

''Shut up!''

They immediately close their mouths and look at me.

''You're giving me a headache. And I'm starving. Let's go to dinner.'' I say in a light voice, trying to sound optimistic but failing gravely. No one says a thing, so I go ahead and rise from my seat. I manage a weak smile as I take Anna's hand. Gosh, it's hard to be optimistic.

''Come on.''

Rose is the first one to react. She jumps up from her seat and glares at Scorpius.

''Fine, but Gryffindor is still the best team.'' she viciously says.

''Sure Rose, whatever you say.'' he responds sarcastically. And they're on again. I sigh exasperatedly.

They're still fighting as we reach dinner. And when we've finished it. And when we're walking to our common rooms. They even continue the next morning at breakfast. I glare at them from across the table. I turn back to my plate with a sigh. Where is that Alex-bloke when you need him?

All of the sudden, my vision is completely monopolised with something landing on my plate with a thud.

''Holy-''

I'm quickly interrupted by the same thudding noises from around me. I lift the grease-covered letter from my plate with a grimace. Gosh, these owls are reckless. I open it with extreme suspicion. It's probably from father.

The greeting phrase immediately reveals that this is indeed a letter from my father. As I read on, I quickly realise that this isn't just any letter.

…

…

…

Holy shit, I'm fucked.

* * *

><p><strong>Roses POV<strong>

I watch Jennie's grim expression as she reads her letter. It can't be a very nice one. Without further pondering on this thought, a cold hand grabs my shoulder. I jump in terror. When I turn around, I realise it's just Alex.

''We need to talk.'' he says, before I can even greet him.

''Okay.'' I answer, more baffled by his serious tone than the actual statement.

As I get on my feet, I notice Scorpius shooting me a worried look. I give him a weak smile, despite the fact that I've been more or less ı with him for a week. It's always like this before Gryffindor-Slytherin games, so I'm not really that angry.

I mean, how could I, with that silky blond hair, those piercing grey eyes, tha-. Okay, I need to stop.

I follow Alex through the Great Hall. I expect him to sit down at the Slytherin table, but he doesn't. Apparently, our conversation demands a high level of confidentiality. We stop just outside the hall. I lean against the wall and examine my nails.

''So, what's up?'' I ask him in a light-hearted fashion. I've gotten used to this boyfriend-girlfriend thing lately, even though Alex is more of a friend. A friend I snog, but a friend nonetheless.

''I don't think this is working.''

My eyes rapidly travel to him. For the first time, I see the boy in front of me. He looks nervous, and deep purple circles are placed under his eyes. It's weird seeing him so brooding. Alex is kinda the pretty and carefree type. Honestly, I didn't even know he thought about stuff like this.

He doesn't even look at me, and pulls his hand through his hair numerous times before I respond.

''And why is that?'' I ask softly. I've always thought it would hurt to be dumped. It kinda doesn't, actually. It's more of a relief. My only concern is really my now ex-boyfriends unusual demeanour.

''I'm sorry, Rose. I just... I'm not in love with you. I'm sorry.'' he repeats.

I tilt my head to the side. He casts nervous glances between me and the door. I'm just about to open my mouth when the door to the Great Hall opens. Derek Parkinson catwalks out of there with an impressive amount of fangirls following him.

I smile a sarcastic smile and look at Alex, expecting him to do the same. He doesn't, he just... stares. At the fangirls. Intensely. I raise my eyebrows at him. He doesn't stop his staring. I cough. He immediately looks at the ground, and starts fiddling with a button on his robe.

''Are you okay, Alex?'' I ask him. He refuses to look at me, and blushes. Wait...what?

''Wait...'' I say. ''You...Wait...'' is the only coherent thing I can say as my brain tries to make sense of my thoughts.

''I have class now!'' he retorts. It sounds more like he's trying to escape though though. Strange... Is he? He can't be! Really? He's in love with someone else already? He's in love with one of Derek Parkinsons fangirls? Wow, just _wow_.

''I'm really sorry about this, Rose.'' he blurts out. Before I can make any comment, he's gone.

What the hell just happened?

I walk back to my friends as in a trance. They don't even spare me a look when I sit down. They're busy reading a letter belonging to Jennie.

I cough. They say nothing.

I cough again. They don't say a thing.

I start frantically scraping my plate with my fork. Not. A. Word.

I'm seriously starting to question their hearing ability.

''Hey guys, I-'' I start, but am quickly cut off by Anna.

''This is horrible!'' she states. I ignore that remark and decide to give it another shot.

''I-''

''This can't be!'' Jennie chimes , this is getting ridiculous.

''Hey, Ale-''

''They're _evil_.'' Scorpius cuts in. I give up.

''What going on?'' I ask them, which finally catches their attention. They look up me with the weirdest expressions on their faces.

''They're plotting against us.'' Scorpius begins. Huh?

''What do you mean by _plotting_?'' I ask, with a suspicious look in the letters direction.

''Plotting as in, they're all coming to see us _at the same time_.'' Anna responds eagerly. I wrinkle my forehead. What?

''Wha-? Who? When?''

''At the quidditch game.'' Jennie says.

''We think they have an evil plan.'' Anna adds.

''They?'' I ask, hoping I'll finally get an answer to who these mysterious people are.

''Our parents. Your and Al's parents, Scorp's father, Anna's mother and my father.''

Without giving me a chance to freak out, Jennie continues.

''Can you believe it? It's like they've planned it!'' I nod in her direction.

I'm really too numb to say a thing. My father's coming here. My mother's coming here. They're meeting Scorpius's dad again. Help!

Jennie, Anna and I are still in shock when we walk from our last class of the day, that we've shared with Hufflepuff.

''I guess this isn't the best timing to tell you guys that Alex just broke up with me.'' I say off-handedly. Of course, they choose to completely exaggerate.

''What?'', ''Really?'', and ''No way!'' are some of the comments I receive. They can't even keep the joy out of their voices. I roll my eyes. The comments continue though.

''It's probably for the best, anyway.'', I'm so sorry, hun.'' and my personal favourite ''Why didn't you say something earlier?'' ring out from beside me. We discuss who Alex might be in love with until' an arm is swung around my shoulder, and Scorpius asks me to come outside with him.

I don't really like snow, but I'll give it a shot.

And that has nothing to do with the fact that it's Scorpius who's coming with me.

...

Not at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey! First of, I have to start with saying I'm so very sorry that this chapter was so late. And bad. And short. <strong>

**I actually have a reason though. I've started school like a week ago, and I've already got a bunch of homework. My teachers are very sadistic indeed.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, even though it's late, bad and short. I tried my best, I promise! **

**And once again, _thank you_ to my wonderful reviewers, readers etc. You guys rock! :D  
><strong>

**Sincerely, Moon**

**PS: Oh my gawd, I just failed so hard. I accidentally uploaded the last chapter _again_. I'm so very sorry! Thanks to the reviewer that pointed this out! :)  
><strong>


	11. Major Author's Note!

**Author's note:** Hey! It's been waaay too long since I last updated, and I can't offer anything else than my sincerest apologies. I am truly, absolutely sorry! So many things have gotten in the way for writing.

There's really not a lot more to say, but if there's still people who want to read this story, then I promise you that I will update far more often! At least once a week from now on!

The only problem is that I've lost the USB I keep my stories on (stupid, I know), so updating might be a bit slow at first.

I've got the next chapter on another computer though, so after some tweaking, it should probably be good enough to publish. I'll most likely have it done this weekend!

At last, I just want to say how sorry I am again! I lurve all you lovely reviewers and readers, and I hope there's still a chance you might want to keep reading this story! :)

Blessed be,

_Moon_


	12. The Bet

_Rose_

'Soo...' I say awkwardly.

I'm walking beside Scorpius in the snow surrounding the lake. My breath is making small clouds in front of me, which, strangely enough, is very fascinating.  
>I don't look at him, and instead keep my eyes at the powdery snow that makes crunching sounds when I walk on it. I don't dare to even glance at him. Maybe I'll faint. Or die. Or both. I'm usually not like this with boys, or people in general, I promise.<p>

Right now I've got this empty feeling that makes it hard to concentrate. I shouldn't be hurt by Alex's rejection, but it still left this weird feeling inside of me. I thought we were working things out and finally got used to the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. And then he just dumps me? It was horrible and absolutely cold-hearted. And then there's Scorpius. Why does he have to be so darn confusing? Why can't he just be the same old person I've been friends with for the latest two years? Why does he have to smell so good, and be so incredibly amazing it's breaking my heart? Stupid boy. My life would be so much easier if he just stayed away from me.

It wouldn't be very fun, though... But easier, oh so much easier.

'Soo...' Scorpius begins, sounding uncomfortable.

He kicks the snow in front of us, causing it to take off with the wind. I bite my lip, which is silly. I hate people who bite their lips all the time, but still I do the very same thing. I'm aggravating, aren't I?

'I'm glad we're like, _together_, just you and I. It's been a long time, hasn't it?' he says, which makes me go all 'aww' inside. 'And I'm glad we're hanging out, just you and me.'

Is it just me, or did that sound just a tad suggestive?

…

Just a little bit?

…

It's just me?

...

_Fine,_ then.

'You're my best friend, after all,'

You're my best friend too! Wanna snog?

Suddenly, he stops in his tracks, making me contemplate wether I should stay too or just keep walking to hide the blush starting to colour my cheeks.

I force a weak smile onto my lips as I stop to face him. I swallow.

'You're my best friend too.' I say, and I really, _honestly_ try to keep the desperate tone out of my voice. Cause it's not like I'm desperate or something... Scorpius crunches his eyebrows together while watching me closely.

'Are you... okay?' he asks, clearly insecure of what to say. He's never been good at dealing with girls. How do I know that? _I was the one who dealt with them instead. _

'Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?' I say, with a flawed poker-face.

'Well, you seem kind of down.'' he says bluntly.

'I'm just tired, honestly,' I answer after a while.

I look at my feet while I nervously tap my finger on my leg. It's an old habit, most often used when in conversation with Josh 'oh-merlin-he's-so-cute-in-that-curly-hair-and-asfdshfdgsd-why-can't-I-say-something-cool?' Anderson, a friend of James whom I had a crush on this summer. That was before I found out that he was as gay as they come. Al and Scorp had a good laugh at me devastatingly stuttering 'is it...true?' to Lily, and latching in to her arms, crying. To my defence I have to say that I wasn't the only one. Pretty much every female Weasley did the same. At least those who weren't married. Kind of.

'You sure?' he stubbornly questions, and I plaster a smile on my lips. It's pretty stupid, really, since he can't see my lips.

'Of course.' I answer, and finally look up at him.

He's smiling like a cheshire cat, and even though I know that he knows that I'm not _really_ okay, he's determined to make me smile for _real. _Which I am, right now, seeing the cute pink circles on his cheeks from the cold, and the snow that's barely visible in his hair. Adorable.

'Then I hope you don't mind me doing this...' he responds, still smiling.

I open my mouth slightly. What exactly is he going to do? His smile grows even bigger as he looks in to my eyes deeply. Is he going to... kiss me? Oh noes! I can't-. No! I may still have left-overs from dinner in my teeth. I can't! He leans even closer and I'm completely stunned. Oh my god, I can't even-

A clump of something extremely cold and compact hits my face. My hands immediately fly up to identify whatever it is. It's cold and strangely wet at the same time. Why is this happening now? And what is this stupid goo I have in my face? On second thought I think I know. It's snow! Stupid snow all over my face! Did it fall from a tree or something? And why now?

I just had the worlds most perfect person in an arm's reach! I remove the now dripping snow from my face. My vision is blurred, but that is corrected after blinking a few times. The first thing I see is this so called perfect person standing in front of me, clapping his thighs like a retarded seal in silent laughter. At first I don't get it.

Then it all becomes so very clear. This stupid, annoying Slytherin-ferret, just mauled me with a snowball. I instantly clench my fists. Oh no.. Oh no he didn't! I grab some snow with my right hand, and furiously fling it towards him. A thump tells me I've hit my target. I've turned around to collect more snow when I feel something hit my back. Slowly, I turn around again, this time loaded with enough snow to rebuild the wall of Berlin with. Game on Malfoy. Game _on_.

* * *

><p><em>Jennie<em>

'And then I asked her out.' Hugo says proudly.

Albus immediately starts laughing uncontrollably. I smile reassuringly at Hugo, hoping he won't take offence from his cousins obvious lack of courtesy. We're currently in the common room. Me, Anna and the entire Weasley clan, that is. It started out with a quiet study session and ended up a full-blown family reunion featuring Hugo talking about some girl he likes.

'And what did she say?' James questions in a very arrogant way.

Actually, I'm not surprised, since everything James does is arrogant in _some_ way.

Hugo looks around the room with a smile on his lips.

'Well, _yes_, of course,' he says, mimicking James's arrogant tone.

The entire room goes silent. Really, even Al stops laughing. I examine the freckled faces of all the Weasleys. They all stare intently at Hugo. _I'm_ not even mildly surprised, as Hugo's not exactly hated by the ladies.

'Really?' Lily asks.

'Yeah, totally,' Hugo responds.

Silence fills the room again. I lose my interest and instead choose to look outside the window. I don't get peace for very long though, as the entire room soon erupts into cheers. I can't help but smile at the antics of this lovely family, that I love as my own.

'Fucking _score_, mate! I'm proud of yah!' Fred calls out while ruffling Hugo's hair.

'Yeh! Never thought I'd live to see the day!' James continues.

Hugo glares at him. I laugh at them and divert my attention to the window again. Out there, something appears to be moving. I squint my eyes, trying to make out what it is. I see two people, seemingly talking to each other. Whoever they are, they must be bloody mental. It's freezing out there. I pay no more heed to the window, and instead looks at Anna. Her lovely blue eyes are frantically searching for something outside the window. I watch her closely, and she frowns.

'Isn't it freezing outside?' she asks, glancing at me.

'Yeah, it is. They must be crazy to be outside right now,' I say, but Anna isn't bothered to look out anymore.

'Hey!' Hugo suddenly calls out, making both me and Anna look at him. 'Where is Rose?'

I think for a while. Didn't she go somewhere? With Scorpius? I try hard to remember, when suddenly, Anna speaks up.

'She's outside! With Scorpius! Said they were going to spend some time _alone_,' she says, her voice faltering at the end.

I seem to reach a conclusion at the same time she does. I spin my head around to look at her so fast I'm afraid I might have stretched something. None of us say a thing, but instead looks out of the window again.

'_Alone_ _time_. We all know what that means...' James says, probably making some utterly disgusting gesture to go along with it.

'Ey, Rose's my sister, you wanker!' Hugo snaps, but I'm too distracted to care.

Outside, Scorpius and Rose is still talking, moving closer by the second. I patiently wait for something to happen, just anything. I'm usually not this interested in other people's lives, but there's truly something poetic about the star-crossed lovers Malfoy and Weasley. They'd be the perfect modern day Romeo and Juliet, if only they'd realise how perfect they are for each other.

'What's going on?' a voice, that I recognise as Fred's, asks.

When no one answers him, he scoots closer to the window, and looks outside.

'Is that...?' he says, his voice trailing off. Before I can stop him, he takes a deep breath.

'Hey you guys! Come over here! Scorpius and Rose are outside!' he yells, and I punch him on the arm.

He just smirks at me as I'm run over by the seemingly _thousands_ of Weasleys rushing over to the window. Luckily, I get to keep my place by the window, meaning I can still see what's going on outside. No one says a thing, which leads me to believe the Weasleys are just as fascinated with this as I am.

Outside, Rose and Scorpius have stopped walking around, and is standing very close to each other. Scorpius leans in towards Rose. I don't even have time to react before gasps are heard all over the room. Are they going to finally snog? That would truly be lovely, and not only because I've heard Scorpius Malfoy is a great snog, and Rose really deserves a good snog, but because I honestly think that'd be super romantic. Cheesy, but still.

Seconds pass without anything happening, except Scorpius leaning even closer to Rose. Then suddenly...

...he mauls her with a _fucking_ snowball. I now see why I hated this wanker to begin with. The entire population of male Weasleys in the room, except Louis, starts laughing uncontrollably. We females sigh in unison.

_Males_. Males and their stupid ways.

* * *

><p><em>Rose<em>

'I'm going to kill you, you wanker!' I scream frantically.

I remove my drenched beanie from my head, exposing my soaked hair. There are no words for how badly I want to sock Scorpius Malfoy right now.

'Come one, Rosie! It was fun, wasn't it?' he says, his chuckling nearly drenching his words.

He's standing only a few feet away from me, and his expensive jacket is completely soaked. So is his stupid hair, which gives me a weird satisfaction. I smile a wicked smile for a second.

'No, you git!' I yell at him with all the anger I can muster.

Quite frankly, it was rather fun. But it's not like I'm going to let him know that. I storm off from him, knowing he's still laughing behind me.

'Rose, where are you going?' he yells after me, sounding only a tad bit worried.

I keep marching on, angrily, even though a smile is tugging at my lips. I've only marched for a couple of seconds when I hear him setting off in a run behind me.

'Rose!' he yells, actually sounding guilty. I keep walking, even more determined.

'Rose,' he says again, and his voice is so near I can't help but raise an eyebrow at how fast he must have been running.

Suddenly, a cold hand grips tightly around my wrist. This causes me to spin around violently, bumping into Scorpius's chest. This seems to have been his plan all along, as he simply takes a steady grip of my waist with his other hand.

'Rose,' he breaths. He looks sincerely guilty as his grey eyes pierce mine.

'Yes?' I ask him, and it comes out as a mere whisper.

I'm cold, and still in shock from being spun around, so I don't bother to start hyperventilating over being so very close to this wonderful boy and his lovely chest.

'I am honestly, sincerely, sorry for drenching you, love,' he says, still looking into my eyes.

I can't help but dropping all my anger. You just can't be angry at a bloke who calls you love.

'I stand before you, hoping you will accept my apology,' he says, and I chuckle slightly at his antics.

'Will you do that, dear Rose?' he asks.

I roll my eyes at him, but I can't help but smile. He smiles back, or rather grins, revealing those white teeth I adore so much.

'Yes,' I simply say, not bothering to play along in his charade. He smiles even bigger at me, and lets go of my waist and my wrist. A shame really. It was rather comfy.

'Now,' he says, and starts fiddling with his jacket. 'will you...' he zips up his jacket completely. I stare at him. What, in the name of Merlin is he doing? '...do me the honour?' he finishes, and holds his jacket open in an inviting gesture.

I frown for a second, before realising his plan.

'Your jacket's soaked!' I insist, even though I wouldn't _actually_ mind being pressed against his chest and all that jazz.

'But _I'm_ warm,' he states, and that settles it.

I give him a sceptical look before closing the distance between us and stepping in between his arms. He gives me a real bear-hug, as if we'd actually just had a fight. I can't help but smile, something I've been doing a lot this past hour.

* * *

><p><em>Jennie<em>

'Such a gentleman,' Roxanne sighs.

'Yeah,' Lily agrees dreamily. I shake my head at them. Okay, maybe the jacket thing was a tiny bit cute. That still doesn't change how much of a git Scorpius Malfoy is.

'Eww,' Al says, and I can't help but hum in agreement.

The room stays silent for a little while, as everyone is staring at Rose and Scorpius slowly making their way back to the school. Soon, they disappear from our sight.

'So,' Louis begins, 'when do you think they'll get together?'

'Five months, no more, no less,' Roxanne says, sounding very secure.

'Why five months?' Lily asks, and I can't help but also wonder.

'It's my lucky number,' Roxanne says, grinning.

'I'd say it's less than that. Two months, maybe,' Anna says. This makes Fred raise his head, alongside James, who seems unnaturally interested in our little conversation.

'One week!' Louis calls out, albeit jokingly. Fred and James look at each other, making me think they have a plan. Turns out I'm right.

'Hey! Why don't we just arrange a bet?' James says, making it sound like it's a rather fun and smart idea, and not as stupid as it is. He's met with positive outbursts from the rest of the Weasleys.

* * *

><p>Soon, everyone has placed a bet, even Anna. I give her a seething look of disapproval, but she simply explains that she could really use some extra cash for the summer. When I ask her what she bet on, she simply gives me a cheeky smile, which really makes those wonderful blue eyes light up, and says that she can't tell.<p>

I roll my eyes at her impatiently, and make my way over to James and Fred, who are keeping track of all the bets. The entire room is buzzing with sound, but when I approach them, everyone seems to quieten down.

'Oh, look Fred,' James says, 'isn't it Zabini, the most unromantic witch in Hogwarts history, making a bet about love?'

'It does appear that way James,' Fred responds, and they smile at each other. I stare at them intently, until they stop grinning.

''Aight,' what do you wanna bet on?' Fred asks, and everyone's eyes seems to be on me.

'It will happen on graduation day,' I say. I don't actually think so, but it's better to make a bet and lose than not participate. And hey, it's not like I don't have the money.

Fred and James share a look, and James is just about to open his mouth when a familiar voice interrupts him.

'What will happen on graduation day?'

* * *

><p><em>Rose<em>

'Well?' I ask them. I analyse all of their faces. It appears that they are betting about something. I share a look with Scorpius, who has his arm slung over my shoulder nonchalantly. He glares at them all.

'Are you betting about something?' he asks them, frowning in the process. When he frowns, his eyebrows do this really cute thing, where they kinda twitch a tiny bit.

'We're betting about when Hugo will get his first snog!' James blurts out, and it sounds like nothing else than a complete lie.

I decide it would probably be completely pointless to try to pressure them into saying what it actually is, so I just smile at them. Scorpius seems to be thinking the same thing, and suddenly diverts his gaze to me.

'I should get going,' he says, focusing only on me. I sigh slightly.

'I guess I'll see you at the game then?'

'Yep,' he says, and turns to Al.

'Are you coming?' he asks.

Al jumps up from the chair he's been seated at, and quickly gets over to us. Scorpius drops his arm from my shoulders, as if he'd forgotten he'd placed it there, and gives me a quick nod. Then he leaves with Al, who weirdly enough winks at me when he passes me. I just shake my head at him.

When I turn back to my dear family and friends, they're all staring at me. I'm a bit startled, and shift uncontrollably.

'What?' I ask them, before making my way to my dorm. And I swear the entire room erupts into laughter when the door clicks shut behind me. Weird.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> Hey! Right now, I can honestly say I'm so tired I'm about to fall asleep, so please excuse me if this AN makes no sense. I've been gone for an unforgivably long time, I know. I've been busy with sorting out the mess that is my life lately, and I can honestly say there have been moments when I've been wanting to write, but simply haven't been able to. This does not make my abstinence okay, though, which I'm completely aware of.

Anyway, this chapter is messy, and rather sucky, and I apologise for that too! I had a blast writing it though, and I kinda wanted to have a chapter that didn't really develop the story, but instead contained some cute moments between Rose and Scorpius. I hope you all like this anyway!

I want to thank everyone who's read, reviewed, alerted and favourited this story! I adore you all. I hope you know how happy you make me. :)

If anyone's still bothered to read this story, then I admire that persons patience. I will update far more often from now one though. That is a promise!

There's really nothing else to say, except that I hope that whoever is reading this is having a great day/night! :D

Lurrve,

_Moon_


	13. Quidditch is Serious Business

'Ah, the smell of poor Slytherins about to be crushed underneath the might of the winning-machine that is Gryffindor,' James muses.

I roll my eyes at him, but can't help but feel a little bit strengthened. Usually, quidditch doesn't make me nervous, not at all. It may be the combination of my parents being here and Scorpius smiling at me from across the pitch that does it.

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' someone says from behind me.

It's Al, who's looking even more arrogant than usually today. I smirk at him.

'We won the cup last year,' Lily chimes in.

I smile proudly. Last years last game was a truly nerve-wracking game, to say the least, but we made it. In the last second, I scored the points that made us win. I didn't allow Scorpius to forget that in quite some time. He was fuming of course, which really makes him look cute.

You see, quidditch is kind of a big deal in our little group. We take it very seriously. Besides, you've pretty much guaranteed yourself constant teasing from the Slytherins if you lose a game.

'Well, you won't have as much luck this time, _dear_ sister,' Al says, before swaggering away towards his team.

The Slytherin team is really good actually. Last year, they were our main concurrents. I'd lie if I said that Scorpius is their only great player. The team, consisting of only boys for some reason, is actually very well put together. They're the gem of Slytherin, some say. All the girls want to be with them, despite some of their families rather gruesome past. I'd say the Slytherin house has done a great job with redeeming themselves since the War, although I might be biased. Most Slytherins are very kind actually, albeit a bit arrogant.

'Who's that?' James says all of the sudden.

I look over at where he's pointing, and discover something I haven't seen before. There's a girl standing by the team, and at first, I'm sure she's just a Slytherin wishing them good luck. Then, I see she's wearing quidditch robes.

'She must be the replacement,' Lily says, and I vaguely remember Scorpus telling me about her.

'For who?' James asks, and I can tell he's hoping it's for one of their better players.

'Derek Parkinson. He fell from his broom during their latest practice, ' Lily says, and I can tell by her voice that it upsets her.

Silly girl and her silly crushes. Falling for a Slytherin is like throwing yourselves down the Astronomy Tower. Stupid, that is. One could say the same thing about me, but I choose to ignore that.

'That's... terrible,' James says, and I can tell he's trying not to smile.

I try not to stare at this new girl too much, bit it's definitely difficult. I recognise her as Lisa Bynes, a wonderful girl with golden locks and brown eyes. She's talking to Scorp, which makes it hard to take my eyes off of her. She's touching his arm slightly, as she laughs at one of his jokes. I bet it wasn't even funny. Suddenly, I don't like her as much.

Behind me, I hear the snow crunching underneath someone's shoes. I turn around to face the person, who appears to be a very late Jennie.

'Shit! Did I miss something?' she asks, as she's tying her shoes, steadying herself on James.

I don't say a thing, as there's more interesting things going on at the other side of the pitch.

'Nothing, except Parkinson's substitute,' James answers her. I keep on watching Scorpius and Lisa. Now, he's telling her some kind of story, judging by his wild gesturing. I can't quite tell what it is, except that he seems to be portraying some kind of conversation

'Hmm... Don't know her,' Jennie says, meaning she doesn't care. She goes on telling Lily about how much she hates her father, and I lose interest. Suddenly, Scorpius points to me, and Lisa looks over to where I'm standing. I immediately try to make it look like I'm terribly interested in Jennie and Lily's conversation.

'Yeah, so why where you late?' I ask Jennie, completely interrupting Lily. I don't even dare to look across the pitch to see if Lisa's still observing me.

'Oh, I was avoiding my father of course!' Jennie says, turning her big brown eyes to me. 'Had to bribe a first year to distract him and the others!' she blurts out. I feel my eyes expand in pure horror.

'They're here? At the school?' I ask, in panic. Oh my. I really thought I'd at least get to finish my stretches before having to worry about my parents.

'Yes!' she says, apparently as panicked as me. I look over at Lily, who's wearing a terrified look on her face.

'Shit!' I say, which basically is the only word occupying my thoughts at the moment.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Deep inside, I was still hoping them coming here was just a cruel prank. Sigh. _Silly_ Rose, thinking she can have an easy life for once!

Before I know it, James has called us over for a last tactic talk before the game. I analyse the faces of Lily, Roxanne, James, Jennie, Fred and Aaron McLaggen. Some look terrified (Lily, Jennie and James) and some are smirking (Roxanne and Fred). Aaron looks completely neutral though, like he usually does. I don't think I've ever seen that bloke upset.

'Alright. Just remember the things we've gone through and we'll be fine, I'm sure, ' James says.

He's never been good at motivational speeches, but I guess the stress from having Harry watching might make him even more nervous.

'Good luck!' I say, trying to cheer the others up.

We all mount or brooms, and before i know it, the game has already started. The very first thing that happens is that Slytherin scores. I swear loudly, but soon continue chasing that darn quaffle.

I'm just about to get my hands on it when it's snatched away from me. I make a violent turn on my broom to check who took it from me. Only a metre away from me is Scorpius, smirking as he's passing the ball to Lisa. I dive after her, determined to score.

* * *

><p>'And with that goal by Rose Weasley, the score is 100-60 to Gryffindor!'<p>

I smile proudly, or rather smirk. We've got this in the bag. I notice the quaffle soaring through the air above me and make a sharp turn to try and catch it. The exact moment I do, however, a voice causes me to nearly fall off my broom.

'And Albus Potter catches the snitch! Slytherin wins!'

Bloody hell!

I see the disappointed faces of my teammates all around me. The Slytherins are all high-fiving each other, and cheering loudly. I fly down to the ground and get off my broom. The loss is tough to handle, and I sigh deeply.

The Slytherins seem to be having some kind of party on the other side of the pitch. They've placed a very content Al on their shoulders, and he's being swarmed by his housemates. I look away from them when I start feeling my hand grip my wand angrily. Stupid Slytherins.

I look around the pitch instead. Right now, there's no sign of my mother or father, but I'm sure they're around here somewhere. We've agreed to meet up in the Gryffindor common room, which I suppose Hugo will open for them.

I lose myself in thought for awhile, but soon, I feel someone poking my shoulder.

'Hey,' a familiar voice says from behind me.

Of course. Who else?

I turn around. Scorpius smirks his very best smirk at me. I'm actually rather confident he's been practicing for this very moment his entire life.

'That was a nice goal there,' he says calmly, and I can tell he's dying to get to rub their win in my face.

'Thanks,' I say, very passive aggressively.

There are moments when I can handle Scorpius Malfoy and his stupid, smirking face, but this is not one of them. He looks at me like he's dying to say something about them winning, and I know he will.

'Is there something you want to say?' I ask him, to try and end his smirking.

Whatever, just not the smirking. It's so annoying I want to punch it off his face (not really).

'Whatever do you mean?' he says and does his best innocent impression.

'If you want to rub it in my face, just do it,' I say, or actually roar at him.

He puts his hands up in a defensive gesture.

'You're not a very good loser, are you?' he asks smugly.

I grit my teeth.

'I guess not,' I say, as calmly as I can.

He bites his lip suddenly, and for a moment I think he'll leave me alone. Nope, I conclude, as his face explodes in to a full grin.

'We won!' he yells in a happy voice, seemingly in to the air.

'We won!' he yells again and starts dancing around like a silly person. I roll my eyes.

'Ah, there's no better feeling than beating Gryffindors!' he muses, and I glare at him.

'No offence!' he says, even though I know he said it so I would take offence.

'Bloody hell, did you see the look on my father's face?' he asks me, and I nod.

It is true that Draco Malfoy looked happier than I've ever seen him before, although it's hard to tell with those Malfoys. Complicated bastards.

'Ah, Rosie, we won!' he says, and I'm just about to remind him about how it's _us he won over_ when he wraps his arms around me and lifts me from the ground.

I guess it's not too bad that they won, after all …

'We bloody won, Rose,' he whispers in to my hair. I almost smile, but stop myself. I will not let him think I've given up.

'I promise you I won't let that happen again,' I growl to him.

He chuckles, but doesn't let me go. Instead, he lifts me from the ground once again and spins me around for a bit. Then, he kisses the top of my head and puts me down. He walks off talking about how Slytherin _bloody_ won, and leaves me in a rather dazzled state.

I see my mother across the pitch and smile slightly. Then I see Blaise Zabini and sigh deeply. This is going to be a very long evening.

* * *

><p>I take a deep breath. Shit. I don't think I can do this. My parents, and losing that quidditch game ... I think I've reached a life crisis.<p>

I put my hair up in a ponytail and take another deep breath. I can do this. Hell, my parents got through a war, and I can't even face them after losing a quidditch game?

This foolery has to stop. Like, right now. I look at myself one last time in the mirror. My cheeks are still slightly red from being outside, and my mascara, that I only recently started using, shows no signs of wearing off. I smile. I can do this. I take a final deep breath and walk out of the bathroom.

Everyone who came with me to the bathroom have already left, I notice, but I can't blame them. It's every witch and wizard for themself right now.

I walk at a steady pace through the castle. We've _all_ agreed to meet up in the Gryffindor common room. Even the Malfoys and the Zabinis, strangely enough.

I speed up my pace as I notice a clock on the wall. Before I know it, I'm already by the portrait of the Fat Lady. I smile at her and murmur the password.

I'm met with a wave of heat as I walk in through the portrait hole. The kind of heat that comes from having too many people in the same room, that is.

Oh Merlin, I really don't want to do this. My legs seem to act on their own, and I suddenly find myself in the common room, staring into the faces of my family.

'Hey!' I say, to not seem like I'm completely frightened of them.

First of all, I'm greeted by my mother, who hugs me. The hug makes everything seem easier for a moment, and I'm glad. She chats away about everything that has happened since I left for school, and I comment every now and then. Ginny and Harry come over to hug me, but soon set off to find Al.

Suddenly, I notice the portrait hole swinging open, and Scorpius stepping in. I suppose he's been in some bathroom somewhere, gathering his thoughts. Or, he's just been walking around the castle, smirking because of the quidditch game.

Probably the latter.

He walks past me, smirking (of course), and even bothers to brush past my arm. I look to my left to give my mother a 'he's-such-a-git' look, but she's gone. I'm telling you, that woman can't stand still for a moment.

Due to my lack of conversational partner, I follow Scorpius with my eyes. He's walked over to his parents, and, which is weird to see, is father greets him with a hug. I shouldn't be surprised, really, as Draco Malfoy really isn't a bad person, but it's still strange to see a former death-eater hug his son in such an endearing way.

I decide it's time to stop intruding on their family time, and look around the room for a bit. In a corner, Jennie is discussing something with her father and mother. Her father probably won't need much of an introduction, as everyone knows who he is. Dark-skinned, handsome and well-dressed. None else than Blaise Zabini himself.

Jennie's mother stands beside him, wearing a worried expression on her face. She's an elegant woman, with her black hair and black eyes and black coat, and black everything. Her make-up is truly flawless, and I can't help but admire what being rich can do with a persons appearance.

With a gust of wind, the portrait hole opens once again. I can't help but turn around to see who just arrived.

'Dad!' I call out, and run towards my father, who's just appeared at the portrait hole.

'Rosie!' he responds, and picks me up in a bone-crushing hug. I smile.

'That was a great goal out there!' he says as he lets me breathe again.

I smile at the face that's so similar to mine, with its freckles and bright blue eyes. My dad's aged very well, if I may say so. He's still got that childish vibe about him, that only gets more intense when he smiles.

'Are you still sure you don't want to go professional and play for the Chudley Cannons?' he jokes, and I laugh at him.

My dad is such a silly person, which makes him a perfect counterweight to my mother. Speaking of which...

'Did you see where mom went?' I ask him. I have so much more I need to talk to her about.

'She's talking to Astoria,' dad responds, and there's not a trace of anger in his voice.

He likes Astoria, just like everyone else does. My mother especially does. When me and Scorp first became friends, they started talking and discovered that they get along fantastically.

I look over at them and see that they're engaged in an energetic conversation. My mother's face is positively glowing, and her slightly bushy hair flies around her face as she laughs at one of Astoria's jokes.

All of the sudden, Scorp walks over to them and greets my mother happily. I can't hear him entirely, but I'm pretty sure he's telling her how beautiful she looks, or something of that caliber, as she blushes slightly. He's a real charmer, that one.

They greet each other with a hug and big smiles, and immediately start talking, probably about my poor quidditch skills.

I share a smile with my father.

My mother likes Scorpius very much. I suppose it's because he's so much like Astoria. Many of his most admirable qualities seem to be inherited from her. His humour and kindness, for example. Not to mention his looks.

There's no doubt that Draco Malfoy is a handsome man, I admit as I glance at him to where he's standing at the other side of the room, laughing with Blaise Zabini. I can however, after many hours of, ahem, _observing_, conclude that Scorp got his most stunning (being completely unbiased here) from his mother.

Although, that is an entirely different subject, one we shall not approach at this moment.

'I'm gonna go talk to them,' I say to my father, and he nods at me.

I make my way over to the group.

'Hi!' I greet them.

Of course, Astoria is the first one to react.

'Rose!' she greets, and immediately hugs me tightly.

We've small talked for a bit when Scorpius takes my hand and pulls me aside. My mother and Astoria keep on talking to each other, but I can't help but notice the looks they're giving us.

I'm just about to ask what in Merlin's name is going on when Scorpius pulls me closer to him.

'Jennie's parents pulled her aside quite some time ago. Should we check up on her?'

I look at his face and see genuine concern. It's so endearing I can't help but smile. I worry, though. I'm not really worried that her parents have hexed her, or something like that. I'm actually more afraid that _she_ might have hexed _them_, to be honest.

'Look, I know what coming from a pureblood family's like,' he says, probably referring to his rather strained relationship with his grandfather, 'so I think we should check on her.'

He's barely got time to finish his sentence before another voice can be heard behind us.

'No need to get your wand in a knot over me, Malfoy.'

I turn around, only to see the smirking face of Jennie.

'I'm alive and well, but thanks for the concern,' she continues, pretending to tip an invisible hat.

I stare at her, mouth agape.

'But wha-? Are you-? What did they say?' I say, struggling to find the words.

She's just standing there, all nonchalant, when I had started to fear that her father had forbidden her to speak to me.

She smiles a smug smile before answering.

'The usual. Blah, you're a pureblood, blah,' she says, mimicking her father's rather arrogant facial expression.

I'm baffled by her nonchalance. Does she not realise that I thought I'd lost her?

'What did you say then?' Scorp questions, sounding only a bit more collected than me.

We share a look of utter distrust.

'I told them to fuck off!' Jennie says, and smiles at the memory. My chin drops even lower.

'You... told your parents to _fuck off_?' I ask her, trying to assemble my thoughts.

'They'll get over it eventually!' she says, as calm as ever.

With that, she starts walking away from us in a fast pace. I just stand there, completely frozen. What, in the name of Merlin's holy pants just happened?

Scorpius taking my hand and marching off with me successfully wakes me up from my thoughts.

'Where are you going?' he yells after her, ignoring the looks the parents are giving him.

'Looking for Anna! I'm afraid she just might be in deeper shit than me!' she yells over her shoulder, sounding serious for the first time in _forever_, basically.

Scorpius stops dead in his tracks, and turns around to face me.

I frown.

'Should we?' he asks me, and I don't even have to ask to know what he's talking about.

I nod at him. Jennie sounds like she means business, and I would hate to not be there for Anna if she's somewhere crying her eyes out. We take off through the portrait hole, and outside, we take off in the opposite direction of Jennie. I don't even care how weird this may seem to my parents right now. As for now, I have to find Anna.

We roam the hallways for about ten minutes before we hear voices from around a corner. It's obvious that it's Anna and her mother Tara, I think to myself as I press myself against the wall with Scorpius right behind me, still holding my hand. Anna and Tara are arguing frantically, judging solely by their angry voices and rather profane choice of words.

This is confirmed as I lean forward and look around the corner. I dare not look for more than a second, afraid they might see me, but yes, it is them. Anna is standing rather far from her mother, as if she's trying to demonstrate the distance between them. Her mother has her face turned away from me, but I remember her face so clearly I don't need to look at it.

In many ways, Anna is very unlike her mother. She's calm, kind and reasonable, while I would call her mother the exact opposite. I like Tara, don't get me wrong, but sometimes she can be rather … _passionate_ ... about certain things.

It's not only in personality that they differ. Anna is light in skin, and rather thin, with round cheeks and blonde eyelashes. Tara though, is a small woman with a lot of curves as well as brown eyes and a constantly cheeky grin. Her high cheekbones and long, dark lashes makes her look more like Jennie's mother than Anna's.

'Irrational! The death-eaters _killed_ my father, Anna!' Tara yells.

I am well aware of this, but I still flinch when she screams it. So does Scorpius, as he usually does at the mention of death-eaters.

'Blaise Zabini was never a death-eater!' Anna retorts, making me guess that she's told her mother about her and Jennie.

'Fine! What about that Malfoy boy then? The last thing I heard about him was that you were _going out_ with him!' Tara yells, making it seem like going out with Scorpius is the most disgusting activity a witch can partake in.

I beg to differ, but it's not exactly like I can tell her that right now. Even though I can't see Anna, I just know that she's shifting uncomfortably. So is Scorpius. Somehow, they seem to think that their fake-dating was so incredibly awkward they don't even want to talk about it. I just find it hilarious.

I feel bad for Scorpius though. I squeeze his hand gently, and turn around to smile at him.

'That was … We're just friends!' Anna yells at her mother.

'Friends! Do you _know_ who his father is?' Tara yells angrily, sounding kinda like she thinks Anna has been living under a rock for her entire life.

'Yes I do! Mr. Malfoy is a very nice man!' Anna yells back fiercely.

'A very nice man …' Tara repeats, sounding like she's been hit by a bludger in the head.

'Yeah! And even if he wasn't, that would not make Scorpius a bad person!' Anna yells, making me very proud of her.

'Anna … I know pureblood families, and I know that the entire bunch is the same unkind, arrogant bastards!' Tara yells back.

I feel my pulse go up, and my hand is gripping my wand tightly. I turn around to Scorpius. He looks nauseous. I feel really bad for him, especially as he's probably the opposite of all those things. I mean, he's not perfect, even though it may seem so at times. He most certainly is arrogant, and perhaps a little annoying at times, but those are all things you have to know him to find out about. That's exactly the reason I feel so very infuriated right now.

'It's not true,' I mouth to Scorpius, and he smiles a weak smile.

'You don't know him! Scorpius Malfoy is by far the kindest, most respectable wizard I've ever met!' Anna yells with such vigor I smile.

It's not like he's got much competition, but still.

'If you could try to give him a chance, even! But no, instead, you seem to take pleasure in being a _raging cunt_!' Anna yells, and I almost gasp loudly.

Scorpius stops me in the last second by putting a cold hand over my mouth and shaking his head. I nod to confirm that I won't blow our cover and he slowly removes his hand, like he's unsure of my intentions. I mourn the loss of the skin-to-skin contact for a while because, yeah, I'm just that pathetic.

Then, I notice the silence. Tara seems to have been shocked as badly, if not worse than me.

After a few moments of trembling silence, she clears her throat.

'I …. I'm so sorry, Anna,' she says with such a soft voice I almost flinch again.

I seem to be very easy to startle today.

'Of course I'll give him a chance, darling. I wasn't thinking. Please forgive me,' Tara says, her voice full of intense regret.

Well, that turned around quickly.

Anna breathes out loudly, making it sound like she's been holding her breath this entire time.

'Of course I forgive you!' Anna says, and judging by the sounds I hear, latches herself into her mother's arms.

I smile at Scorpius. This turned out way better than expected. Like, _waaay_ better than expected.

For the first time in forever, Scorpius seems to relax. It doesn't take long til' panic finds it way in to his eyes again though.

I'm about to sigh exasperatedly when he gets up on his feet and pulls me up by my hand. I frown at him, but oblige nonetheless.

We've run a few steps when he gently pushes me into a tapestry that apparently was hiding a little room. Or, _room_ would be an exaggeration really.

Scorpius dives in behind me. Only a second later, I hear footsteps and Anna's voice, only centimetres away from us. We stand there for a few seconds, listening, until the footsteps fade away.

It's only then I feel like I can relax. I let out a breath I've been holding for way too long. Thank Merlin Scorpius reacted so quickly.

I smile up at said person, who's smirking at me. Only then, I notice exactly, _how little _space we have.

I'm literally between a rock (the wall) and a hard place (his chest). I blush furiously, because I can't help but think about that chest without any robes to cover it. Damn, my brain really loves putting me in awkward situations. I know Scorpius is watching me. I can basically _feel_ his stare burn me.

'Shit, there's really not a lot of space in these,' I say, to try to make him look away from me.

'I don't mind. _At all,'_ he says seductively.

My body temperature rises, which is to be expected in situations like these. I refuse to be silly though. I refuse to be a slave under my feelings. I _refuse_ to giggle.

'Do you have to flirt with everyone?' I ask him, putting a subtle emphasis on the 'everyone'.

I attempt to look into his eyes. It's difficult though, because they are _so very intense_. Whenever he looks at me, that Malfoy grey seems to become ten thousand times more grey.

'No,' he laughs, a bit taken back by the question. 'Only with you,' he says gently, and takes my hand. I feel my blush spread to my hairline.

I swallow loudly.

'Do you know why?' he asks coyly.

Thats' about the time I feel a finger, _his_ finger, on my cheek. I refuse to swoon. Rose Weasley _does_ _not_ _swoon_. I'm Hermione Granger's daughter for crying out loud! It's not in my genes to be a sissy. It is, however, in my genes to be completely awkward, and blush in situations when I don't want to. This appears to be one of those situations.

I suddenly remember his question.

'No,' I answer, and it comes out much weaker then I intended it to. Bloody hell.

He places a strand of my hair behind my ear, and that's when I break. My determined expression is completely crushed. Every bit of my mother's determination that I may or may not have inherited crumbles right there, when he decides to let his finger linger by my beet red ear, caressing it slightly.

'Because every blush feels like an accomplishment,' he says softly, and I remember what he said earlier.

He drops his finger from my ear and walks away, laughing. For about a second, I'm baffled. Then, I realise what kind of trick he just pulled on me.

Oh Merlin, am I going to hurt that bloody twat. I run out after him, and punch him on the arm. Hard.

'Your Slytherin is showing, you _prick_!' I yell at him. He smirks at me.

'Fantastic! My father will be thrilled!' he calls out, putting his hands up to the sky. I punch him once again on the arm.

Soon, we're back in the common room. Everything looks just like when we left it. No one really notices us coming back, as they're all engaged in conversation. Even Tara is, with none less than Astoria Malfoy. I blink a few times, to make sure I'm not hallucinating.

Scorpius touches my arm slightly.

'I'm … going to go over there,' he says. I nod at him. He's going to make Tara like him. Doing what he does best, basically.

At the very moment he greets her, both of my arms gets stolen by Jennie and Anna.

'Oh, what a night it's been,' Anna says.

I smile at her. It's truly been one hell of a night, but I'm glad everything turned out this way. Better than expected, that is. Suddenly, I remember something.

'Where's Al?' I ask, as I remember that I haven't actually seen him since the game.

'Well, last I saw him, Mr. Potter was having a discussion with him about how to properly treat women,' Jennie says.

I smile smugly. It was about time.

I yawn, which makes me notice how tired I really am.

Tiredly, but happily, I look around the room, seeing Draco, Scorpius and Astoria Malfoy talking to a seemingly rather friendly Tara Jackson, Ginny talking to Lily and James, and my dad kissing my mom when he thinks no one is looking.

Everything is okay again. Or, it's okay as in, I won't lose any of my best friends. I'm still have a crush on my best friend. I guess I'm going to have to work on that.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hullo! This chapter is a little late, but please don't hate me. It's a wee bit longer than the others, so it took quite some time to write it! I don't really have anything else to say, other than how very thankful I am that you guys exist! I love every person who reviews, alerts, messages me, and all that jazz! So thank you for existing. :D<strong>

**_PS_. I've just discovered Pottermore, and it's completely wonderful. I'm smitten! I got sorted in to Slytherin, by the way! _DS_.**

**Sincerely,**

**Moon**


	14. Temperamental

_Rose's POV_

You know that thing I said earlier about things being okay? It turned out that wasn't true. Things just went more to Azkaban than they already were in the first place.

First of all, I have the worst headache since the beginning of time. It feels like my head will implode any second now. Also, I've been late for every class the latest two days. Why, you may ask? I've been kind of distracted lately, but we'll get to that later.

The major thing that's currently making me stab the waffle on my plate with my fork so viciously I can feel Anna's concern from the other side of the table is, you guessed it, Scorpius Malfoy. Will he ever not be a problem? I honestly don't know.

Yesterday, I sought him out in the library after being bothered by Jennie the entire day. I was going to do like she told me and finally ask him if he's dating Lisa Bynes, like I've been wondering since they started hanging out after that Quidditch game two weeks ago. Even though it might seem very unlikely, I don't do this regularly. Question my friends to find out stuff about their love-lives, that is.

So, I found him in the library where he was busy with his Potions homework. I said hi and he gave me a quick glance and mumbled a hello. I didn't want to bother him so I took a seat beside him and started reading a book. My concentration didn't last for too long though.

Soon, the words started making no sense at all, and I had to look up from my book. Scorpius was quite a sight, actually. His tie was rather loose, probably from being tugged at so much and that hair, that lovely platinum-blond hair was in his face.

I had the biggest urge to just lean over and stroke it away from his forehead, but as that probably would have been seen as rather inappropriate, I refrained. Instead, I cleared my throat. He didn't look up. I bit my lip.

'Are you dating Lisa Bynes?' I asked him, and immediately cursed my stupid brain for acting on its own.

He looked up at me and didn't even look shocked. He probably knew I was going to ask him that. I swallowed.

'Why do you care?' he asked me, and sounded just a tiny bit annoyed with me.

I decided to joke about it.

'Eh ... I'm just asking. I mean, as your self-proclaimed best friend, I kinda feel like it's not a completely stupid question,' I said.

I realised it was a mistake the moment he put is pen down in a very dramatic gesture (damn those Malfoy-genes) and stared at me. I swallowed. Again.

'You've never cared before, so why the sudden interest?' he asked, and I swear to Merlin I had, and still have no idea what I did to make him so defensive.

Baffled, I searched my brain for the best answer.

'Eh ... I mean, I _like_ Lisa ... so I was just wondering ... ' I said, stupidly enough.

'You didn't like my previous girlfriends?' he drawled.

I raised my eyebrows. Still too baffled to answer I stuttered:

'Eh ... Of course I did! I mean, I ... eh ...'

His answer was immediate and with a more annoyed tone than ever.

'Just leave it, Rose,'

'I was just wondering, because Al said-'

That was a lie, of course. Al hadn't said a thing, but I couldn't tell him _that._

'Please, Rose. Just mind your own business,' he said, and this time he didn't even look up.

By then I was furious. I had the biggest urge to just smack him over the head and leave, but instead, I composed myself.

'Fine, then,' I said, and stood up.

He glanced at me, and for that one moment when our eyes met, I saw a shadow of regret on his face. I didn't bother to stay and wait for him to apologise though, and instead I just walked away, cursing that stupid temperamental git that I call my best friend.

You can see why I'm pissed, right? I mean, how much crap is a girl supposed to be able to take when she's already in the worst mood ever?

'Hey, Rose, that waffle hasn't done anything to hurt you,' Jennie says. I turn my head to her. The look on my face makes her look at me, concerned.

'Alright, what did that git do this time?' she asks.

I pretend to have no idea what she's talking about.

'Nothing,' I lie.

Or, technically, he hasn't _done_ anything. I'm probably overreacting.

'Then what's wrong?' Anna asks.

'Nothing, he was just in a pissy mood,' I say, continuing to stab my waffle.

I feel them glare at me, but try to ignore them anyway. When I look up and they're still staring, I sigh and tell them what happened yesterday.

'What a git!' Anna says, which really isn't like her. I resist the urge to smile and instead stand up.

'Gotta get to class,' I say.

Better start now. I don't want to be late _again_. I run off to class and the very first thing that happens when I get out in the hallway is that I drop my books on the floor. Great. This day is going to be bloody fantastic, really.

* * *

><p>By lunchtime I'm already in such a foul mood I can't even believe Jennie and Anna have agreed to eat with me. The Scorpius-thing is bothering me more by the second, and seeing him being all talkative with Lisa does not help. At all.<p>

To make everything worse I've already been given a tonne of homework! And it's Friday! I'm supposed to rest over the weekend, not work like a bloody slave in the library!

I don't really have anything else to do, though, as Scorpius is probably going to Hogsmeade with Lisa or something equally uninteresting. It's not like I care. He can do whatever he wants, and besides, I'm still too angry to even think about coming with _him_ anywhere.

Luckily, me and Jennie share the next class, so at least I have moral support.

It turns out I'm going to need it, I think as I see Scorpius and Lisa walking towards us on our way to class. I sigh. Of course. They're laughing and talking loudly, like they've been doing a lot these past two weeks. Scorpius laugh seems to trail off when he sees me though. I ignore him. It's not like this day can get any worse, but I don't want to take any risks.

'Hi!' Lisa greets me.

I force a smile on my lips and say hello. What does she want? Isn't it enough that she's _stolen_ my best friend? She's going to act nice about it too?

Deep in my soul, I know it's not her fault that Scorpius happened to inherit his mother's terribly jumpy mood, and that I really have no excuse for being jealous, seeing as I don't _own_ him. I ignore that, of course. I mostly do.

'On your period, I notice,' Jennie says to Scorpius when she sees the look he's giving me.

I feel like putting my tongue out at him, but that would probably be a bit too childish.

Jennie takes care of my need to hurt him by bumping in to his shoulder when she passes him. As soon as we've passed him and Lisa, we high-five each other. This day just got a lot better.

* * *

><p>The day didn't get to stay good for very long. Soon, I found myself glaring at Lisa and Scorpius in every class we shared with Slytherin for the rest of the day. The jealousy was serving like a constant reminder of how utterly pathetic I am for falling for the one person that I can't ever have. Remind me to never do that again, please. However, I was distracted in every class, which made the professors less than pleased with me.<p>

By the time I get to the common room, I'm already in my worst mood again. It doesn't help that I have so much homework to do I can barely wrap my head around where to start.

Just when I put the finishing touch on my Charms essay and smile proudly to myself, I hear the portrait hole swinging open. In runs Ashleigh, flailing as she's trying to dry her tears and hold on to her bag at the same time. She's already passed me by the time I react. I waste no time on arranging my things neatly, but simply throw them in my bag and set off after her. By the time I reach her, she's already in our dorm, on her pink, fluffy bed, crying her eyes out.

'Ashleigh!' I call out.

I run over to sit down beside her at her bed. Her blonde hair is spread out around her head on her pillow. She's sobbing furiously. I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

'Are you okay?' I ask in my softest voice, that's reserved for these kind of things.

I'm rather sure she's not okay, but it's the only thing my lousy brain can come up with at the moment. I seriously want a refund for it.

Ashleigh looks up at me with the most crushed expression I've ever seen on another human being. In that moment, I swear that I will hunt down whoever did this to her and hurt that person severely.

That may be my sudden thirst for blood speaking. The tears come streaming down even more frequently when she opens her mouth to answer.

'I-I gu-guess,' she says, and tries to dry her tears. 'ju-just su-surprised, I suppose,' she continues.

She drops her head down on her pillow after that, like she can't even bear to hold it up. I frown.

'Why? What's happened, Ashleigh?' I ask.

I've read somewhere that addressing a person by their name might help calm them down. It's obviously bullshit. Ashleigh starts sobbing even more, making the entire bed shake.

'A-al,' she says, and I'm immediately sure that there _will be blood. _'sno-snogging that Pa-Patil s-slut ... right in front of me!' she finishes. Oh no. Oh hell no!

'I thought he had fe-feelings for me!' she yells in to her pillow. 'I know we weren't da-dating! But he said ...' she trails off.

She's crying more violently than ever now.

'I'm so sorry, sweetie,' I say, as calm as ever.

But inside, I'm boiling. I'm going to hex Al so hard, he isn't going to be able to hurt another girl _at least_ a week. I sit there with Ashleigh for a while, trying to comfort her, until her friends arrive. I give her a hug before setting of towards the common room.

I get some confused looks from James and Hugo when passing through, as they find their greetings unanswered. Right now, my focus is on Albus Severus Potter and his upcoming demise. I step out of the portrait hole and push myself through a group of baffled third-years.

I'm driven purely by rage as I power-walk through the castle in search for some poor Slytherin. Unfortunately, the one I happen to run in to is the one I least desire to speak to.

'Heey!' Scorpius calls out when I'm a few feet away from him. I walk determinedly towards him.

'I was looking for you. Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, I-'

I cut him off by grabbing his stupid Slytherin tie and pushing him up against the wall. I don't even care about being so close to him that I can feel the heat of his body through his shirt, or that he has obviously just showered or that he looks so very adorable when he's shocked. Right now, I'm seeking revenge.

'Ro-'

Once again, I cut him off, this time by placing a finger on his oh-so-soft (but it's not like I care) lips.

'Where's Al?' I question.

He seems to notice the determination in my features and decides to answer me.

'In the common room,' he answers behind my finger, and I'm reminded to remove it.

I've got no time to spare though, so I take a tighter grip on his tie and start walking towards the Slytherin common room.

'Where are we going?' he asks, sounding rather worried, which he should be. I'm still mad at him.

'To your common room,' I growl.

He seems to understand his role in this mission, and doesn't say anything. When we've finally reached the dungeons, I let go of his tie. He adjusts it slightly before glancing at me worriedly. I glare at him.

'I'm not supposed to be letting you in here,' he says, and I know that he's just trying to win some time. With our generation, it's become far less taboo to spend time in another house's common room.

'Do I look like I want to negotiate?' I ask in my most serious tone.

He looks like he wants to say something, but refrains. A good choice, if you ask me.

He looks at me one last time before gracefully striding towards the door. He murmurs a password I cannot hear, and a path to the common room is opened. I brush past him when I walk in to the common room, and immediately start scanning the room.

Surprisingly, Al is all alone on the sofa, reading a book (what is going on in this world?). Al stands up and turns around. He has the most annoying smile on his face, which makes my blood boil. I take a few quick steps towards him

'Hey Rose! What-'

He's abruptly interrupted by my fist colliding with his jaw. As you can probably tell, my plan went to hell. This will have to do instead. Al staggers backwards from the punch. There's no blood or anything, but I'm pretty sure I hit kinda hard, as my fist hurts. I shake it a tiny bit.

'What the hell, Rose?' Al asks as he looks at me with a rather comedic expression on his face. He rubs his jaw.

'That was for Ashleigh, you bloody git!' I yell at him. Realisation creeps on to his face.

'I didn't mean to, it was stupid!' he says to try to defend himself, which, of course, makes me even angrier.

'Do you think I care?' I yell. If the Slytherins didn't hear that, they must have reduced hearing. 'You always do this! And I've had enough of you!' I yell. Al looks guilty. Like he realises what he's done.

'I'm sorry,' he says, and looks at the ground. Right now, he looks more like a scared boy than a misogynistic wanker. I feel a bit bad for punching him now.

'Rose ...' I hear Scorpius say behind me.

All of the sudden, I feel like I'm about to explode. I don't know what it is, but I feel so angry at the sound of his voice. It's something about it that makes me want to punch him too. I turn around so quickly I almost lose balance for a second.

He's looking at me like he's going to tell me to _calm_ _down_. That's the final straw. I finally lose it. My anger explodes like a ticking bomb all over the room, burning everyone in sight. Figuratively speaking, that is.

'And _you!' _You bloody _wanker_!' I yell at a absolutely terrified Malfoy, who seems to have no idea what's going on. 'You think you can do whatever the _fuck _you want! Oh, treat Rose like shit and ignore her. Oh, she won't mind, as long as I _apologise_ afterwards! You fucking _idiot_!' I yell so fiercely I have to catch my breath for a moment.

Damn, that felt good.

'I'm done with you! I'm done with both of you!' I scream.

I don't mean it, but for some reason, I want them to think I do. Bloody twats, they are. Scorpius is so shocked he can't say a thing, and I guess Al is in a similar state. I give Scorpius my meanest glare before stomping out of the Slytherin common room.

The tears don't come until I'm safe and sound in my own common room. Anna, who's sitting with Jennie by the fire, immediately reacts and sits me down between them. When both of them have rubbed my back for at least five minutes, I can finally start talking.

'Boys suck,' is all I can say before I start sobbing again, even more violently than ever. I feel ashamed that those two annoying prats were able to reduce me to this state, but I don't really care.

'Oh, Rosie, I know. I know, ' Anna says. I rest my head on her shoulder, while Jennie gives me a napkin.

This weekend is going to suck.

* * *

><p>The rest of Friday and the entire Saturday is spent by me and Ashleigh laying in our beds talking about how much we hate the boys in our lives, eating ice-cream and singing along to Anna's muggle music.<p>

Al, who apparently realised what a git he is, has stopped by several times, according to Jennie and Anna. He's left a bunch of gifts too. Looking at Ashleigh's cupboard, you could think she's a patient at St. Mungos.

He was even kind enough to leave me a bouquet of lovely flowers, with a little note attached that said 'Sorry you had to punch me,' which made me giggle.

Scorpius has stopped by too. He left me a book and a box of chocolates, testifying just how well he knows me. Anna was so touched by that gesture that she tried to convince me to come down and speak to him. I just told her to tell him to go away, which I kind of regret right now, on Sunday morning, when Ashleigh's left to hear Al out and Anna and Jennie have left for Hogsmeade.

I look around my bed a bit. There's no chocolates left and the only entertainment I have is reading the book Scorpius gave me again. Sigh.

After a few seconds of contemplating it, I decide to get up. I have barely left this bed for 24 hours, I realise, as I swing my legs over the edge.

* * *

><p>After a shower, some make-up and some clean clothes I'm like a new person. Happily, I make my bed, and even bother to clean up a bit around it. That tantrum was really needed, I realise, as I once again read the note Scorpius sent me without a trace of anger left.<p>

'Please don't leave me. The world is scary without you.'

I smile the biggest smile I've smiled in days and decide to go looking for him. The first thing that hits me when I leave my dorm is the blinding sunlight. It burns my eyes and makes me realise just how isolated I've truly been. I'm met with many greetings in the common room, that I cheerily return. Before I've even left the common room, I feel way better than I did before.

In the hallways, things are like they've always been. The stonewalls are as solid as ever and the ceiling is still majestically high. The sun is peeping through every window, leaving patterns on the walls. The castle is even decorated, I notice.

Wonderful Christmas decorations can be seen all over the castle. In my isolation, I'd almost forgot how quick time passes. Soon, it's Christmas, which means holiday. I'm by no means glad to leave Hogwarts, but I have to admit that I've missed the Burrow and my family.

I slow down for a while to watch the decorations. I wonder if grandma has decorated yet. She probably has. She always does. That woman will never grow tired of doing stuff like that.

'Rose?' I turn around curiously.

'Al?'

He looks at me carefully, and I can see that his jaw is slightly red still. I feel so bad, but I can't help but giggle a bit. He _did _deserve it.

He doesn't say anything. His intense green eyes look at everything but me, and I can see why. This is awkward. Very awkward. He probably thinks I'm going to punch him again.

'I'm sorry for punching you,' I try.

Baffled, he looks up at me. Is me being kind really _that_ strange?

'I deserved it,' he says, ' I shouldn't have tried to make her jealous.'

He rubs his jaw slightly. I smile apologetically.

'I should probably go find Scorpius and apologise.'

Al looks up at me curiously.

'He deserved it too.'

'He probably just had a lot to do. You know how bad he is at dealing with stress,' I say, although I kind of agree with Al.

'Rose, I don't think ...' Al starts.

I give him a look, urging him to continue.

'What?'

Why does it seem like everyone's suddenly keeping secrets from me? What happened to telling your friends everything?

'Are you back together with Alex?'

Al's question takes my by surprise, and my initial reaction is to laugh at him. Why would I be back with Alex? I have barely seen him since we broke up.

'What?'

I continue laughing, an Al just stares at me.

'He's been sneaking away from dinner and missing Quidditch practices, so I guess we jumped to conclusions a bit.'

Al stutters a bit, which only makes me laugh harder.

'Why didn't you just ask me?' I ask, and by then I'm almost on the floor.

'Well, uh... We, err... I don't know,' he says and in that moment I seriously wonder, for the first time in my life, how this bloke gets so many ladies.

'Right. Because you're boys.'

I laugh a bit more, but trail off when I see the face Al makes. He honestly looks so much like a confused little child that I can't bear to laugh at him.

'Oh,Al.'

I hug him. He hugs me back, but not before flinching a bit.

'Now, where's your better half?' I let him go.

'He's in the library with Lisa.' Al seems uncomfortable when saying that. He really is a generally awkward person when it comes to feelings, isn't he?

'Okay!' I say, as happily as every.

It's not like I can ignore her forever. Scorpius deserves to be happy, I convince myself as I wave goodbye to Al and set off to the library. Besides, Lisa being around might help me get over this silly crush so that all of us can move on with our lives.

With that attitude, I walk into the library. The first thing I notice is them, of course. They're sitting opposite from each other at a very small table, seemingly reading. When I come closer I notice that they are in fact whispering. About what, I couldn't tell you, because they really are quiet. Before I can speak up, Lisa notices me.

'Rose!'

She smiles at me, which makes that stupidly perfect face of hers light up. Isn't she supposed to be a mean Slytherin?

'Hi Lisa!'

I put as much joy as I can in my voice, and pray that it didn't come out as sarcastic. It probably did.

Scorpius, who seems to be a bit out of it, stands up so abruptly his chair nearly falls over when he sees me. Both me and Lisa give him a look clearly stating we think he's gone mental.

'Rose?' he breaths.

I feel like laughing at his surprised face.

'No, Hugo,' I joke.

He smiles a tiny bit, but he still seems to be too shocked to say anything. Poor guy probably thought I'd never speak to him again.

On the other side of the table, Lisa is watching me expectantly.

'Oh _my_, it's almost lunchtime! I have to go!' she exclaims. I don't bother to look at her in distrust, as she's very aware that it's not lunch in at least an hour.

Quickly, she assembles her things, nods at Scorpius, who still looks dumb-founded and starts walking away. As she passes me she gives me a meaningful look, that I cannot for the life of me comprehend. Does it mean she wants me to stay away from Scorpius? In that case, she's got nothing to worry about. Seriously.

I walk over and sit down at the chair Lisa's just abandoned. Scorpius sits down obediently, but his grey eyes are watching me carefully.

'I'm not going to hex you.'

I smile reassuredly at him. He goes on staring. Looks like that charm of his doesn't work when he's in shock, which makes this a lot easier for me.

'I wasn't expecting you to.'

He sounds a tiny bit doubting still, which makes me want to laugh. Again.

'I'm so sorry I treated you that way, Rose. I just had so much to do, and... well, you know...I really didn't intend to hurt my favourite person in the entire world,' he says.

Finally, he smiles. Looks like the charm is back on, and I must act fast. Without looking at him, I shoot him down.

'Why are you lying?'

I say it with a smile, so he won't run away in terror. When I look back at him, he's staring at me in disbelief. I would like to say it makes him look comedic, like with Al, but it doesn't really. It just makes him look like the most snoggable creature on this planet. _Ahem_.

'What do you mean?'

He clearly has no idea what I'm speaking about, which makes this even more amusing than I expected it to be.

'You didn't have a lot to do. You were mad at me because you thought I was back together with Alex.' I say it in my most confident tone, which is hard, because Scorpius has started to regain his composure and is piercing my brain with those eyes.

I blink a few times. _Focus_.

'I... don't know what to say. You got me,' he says in his most charming tone.

He's very well aware of what he's doing, I'm sure. But he won't get me this time.

'I'd like to know why.' I feel proud of my delivery of that line, which was flawlessly cool and not stuttered at all. _Hah!_

'Eh ...'

Now, it's him who is insecure. This is really working better than I expected it to. Better than it should've, I realise, when he starts rubbing his neck with his hand, which draws my attention to it. You can't really blame me! It's a really nice neck.

'I don't ... Err ...'

It really is frightening how incredibly _irresistible_ a neck can look. It's just not fair. Suddenly, he turns at me and stares at me so intensely I'm caught off guard. No trace of insecurity is left when he opens his mouth to speak.

'Rose, I-' he starts, and in that moment, Ashleigh decides to waltz right in and drop a box of chocolates on the table. Both me and Scorpius jump in surprise, but Scorpius looks more relieved than surprised.

'He gave me another box of chocolates! Can you _believe_ it?' Ashleigh exclaims.

Scorpius shakes his head excitedly, like it's the most interesting thing he's heard all day. For some reason, he seems to be very glad he didn't have to finish his sentence, which probably means it was something that would've made me hex him.

I squint at him and shake my head.

You got away this time, Malfoy, but I won't let that happen again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hullo! I don't have much to say so I'll just shortly explain why I did what I did with this chapter. I feel like I've made Scorpius a bit of a Gary-Stu, and I hate that. So, for that reason, I wanted to show a bit of his meaner side (basically being a possessive jerk at times) that I've imagined him having. <strong>

**Anyway, that's it, and once again, thanks to all the people who read, review, alert and favourite this story! It wouldn't be half as fun to write without you! :)**

**If you feel like it, you're welcome to write a review! Constructive criticism and feedback is always appreciated! :D**

**Yours,**

**Moon**


End file.
